Gemini
by Nenilein
Summary: Vanitas never had any reason to be loyal to Xehanort. Had he realized this fact the day he was created, maybe his life would have taken a different path entirely? / An Alternate Timeline in which Vanitas betrays Xehanort and is taken into custody by Eraqus. Will cover the entire time-span of Birth by Sleep. No Pairings.
1. Hatred

_I've had the idea to this fanfic for years, but never actually got around to writing it until now._

 _(To all my usual readers, don't worry; A new chapter of Complete Turnabout is already finished and pending grammar/spelling correction.)_

 _The first chapters are heavily based on the two backstory chapters describing Vanitas' creation and Ventus' recovery in the official Kingdom Hearts novel. Especially my portrayal of Vanitas and his mindset in this fic is heavily reliant on the assumption that these two chapters can be regarded canon._

 _In any case, I dedicate this story to everyone who's ever wondered if there's a point to their existence._

* * *

Something had been born here, just now, moments ago.

Anyone told this would probably only have laughed at these words. After all, what could possibly born of a place like this? An empty, dead wasteland, where the tears and blood spilled so many years ago have long dried up and become naught but specks of salt blown across the desert with the sand? There was nothing here that could have brought forth life. Nothing that could have given birth. And yet, here he was. He existed. Just as empty and desolate as the desert ground he was standing on, he was alive in the loosest sense of the word.

That man had called him "Vanitas". The man's own name was Xehanort and he was his Master. But Vanitas did not feel respect, nor admiration for him. In fact, he did not feel anything positive at all, nothing uplifting, no joy, or pleasure, or anticipation or even just calmness. He had none of these emotions. That was because all that was 'light' to Vanitas belonged to another. Something he used to be part of. A heart. A person.

Vanitas was still dazed when he watched Xehanort, his Master, his creator, walk away, carrying the thing that had been lying on the ground with its four limbs stretched out just moments ago over his shoulder. No, not a thing. A person. 'Himself', or rather, who he used to be. The one he was born off. Vanitas felt sad to see Ventus carried away. Vanitas felt spiteful towards Ventus, who was being carried away. It was strange and confusing. And Vanitas knew right away that this 'confusion', too, was a feeling he found unpleasant. He hated it. And he was afraid of how easy it was to hate it. And he hated that fear. And he feared the fact that there was nothing to quell it. And he hated Ventus, because he was born from him. After all, he hated the fact that he had been born in itself.

Slowly, Vanitas was beginning to make sense of his surroundings. Of the things he saw, of the things that had happened to him and of himself. He was Darkness. The dark part of Ventus' heart, that had been taken from him, because he had been too weak to fight when the Master had demanded it of him. Yes, too weak. Ventus was weak. And Vanitas was born of Ventus. Oh, how he hated Ventus. Had Ventus not been weak, they would not have been parted. Now Vanitas was alone, with nothing to quell his fears and his sadness and his hate. He hated this loneliness, split apart from himself, that other half, that had always been there to make him whole until now. But now he was incomplete. Empty.

In Vanitas' hands, there was a key. He recognized it. His Keyblade. It came natural to him, to understand what it was and what it was good for. He remembered fighting, as Ventus, as part of him. But that was over now. Even though his Keyblade made him feel powerful and for a moment, a feeling which allowed Vanitas to laugh briefly under the mask that hid away his empty face, eventually fear overcame him again. Ventus' fear. Of course. After all, that was all he was. Ventus' dark emotions. And as Vanitas was still realizing this, the first creatures were born from him. Unversed, barely even living beings. Emotions, parts of him that had escaped him, created from his feelings at the moment. These pathetic, useless, horrible feelings, that he had to endure without anything to ease them with. What else could he do, but hate them? After all, they were proof of his hateful existence. They deserved to be eliminated. And so, Vanitas brought his Keyblade down upon them and destroyed the Unversed. Immediately, the Darkness released flowed back into him. He felt pain. The pain of the Unversed, their emotion, their sadness, despair, hatred and anger, it all returned to him. He almost regretted destroying it. And yet, as soon as the next of these creatures showed its ugly face behind him, his Keyblade was swung again. Once more, he destroyed the loathsome being, and once more it returned to him, with all its pain and negativity. The hurt and spite Vanitas felt gave birth to yet more on Unversed.

It repeated, over and over, the Unversed's birth from Vanitas' feelings and their demise by his hands. With every Unversed he killed, his pain only grew. The cycle continued until, finally, Vanitas broke down, collapsing into the dust under his feet. With a scream, he finally ripped the mask off his head and grasped onto his featureless, blank face. He could feel its even, almost alien surface under his fingers. It was nothing like Ventus'. In fact, he wasn't even sure if this appearance could even be called 'a face'. A doll could have passed for human more easily than he could have with this face. Vanitas knew this. Again, he screamed in his agony. And then, the questions began to shoot into his mind.

What kind of being was he even supposed to be? Who was he? Ventus, another Ventus, someone else entirely? Why was it that he had to be born? What for? What worth was a life born of another's pathetic failure?

He hated this. He hated existing this way. He hated Ventus, who he had been born from, and he hated Xehanort, who had ripped him away from Ventus. He loathed them so deeply, it was painful to him. And now he envied Ventus, who's heart was probably broken into a million pieces by now. That boy would never be able to feel anything as painful as this again. And Vanitas would never see Ventus again. He wouldn't even be able to hurt him, cause him pain, for leaving him behind like a piece of shed skin. Ventus was out of his reach. Xehanort was far too powerful take on. Vanitas realized that he didn't even have anybody to exalt revenge for his existence on. All he could do was continue to hurt himself. For now, however, the pain and exhaustion had finally gotten to him. He was just lying in the dust, motionless.

It was when the twilight changed into night that Vanitas heard a voice in his mind from somewhere, far away.

 _Hey, where am I?_ It asked, and all of a sudden, Vanitas found himself in utter Darkness.

There was a small streak of light, somewhere in the distance. Vanitas did not understand what was going on. It frightened him, but even if he had wanted to fight or flee, he wouldn't have been able. His limbs would not obey him. Almost as if his body was not his own and he were only a silent observer to what was unfolding before him. There was a feeling as if he were somewhere far away, in a place he had never seen before. He felt as if he could hear waves hit the shore. And as the light's radiance grew closer, Vanitas heard the voice speak:

 _It's time to wake up now. All we have to do is open the door._

The light engulfed him and at once he woke up, with a jolt like awaking from a nightmare. Vanitas took deep breaths. What in the world had happened just now? He didn't understand, but he felt as if Ventus' heart had been saved. Was that what that voice had been? Had another heart saved Ventus? A new heart, that had replaced him as Ventus' other half, maybe..?

Vanitas didn't have the chance to contemplate what this meant, because now he was beginning to realize the changes that had happened to him too. When he led his fingers to his face, he could touch his lips. He had lips. And cheeks, and a nose, and eyelids and hair... A normal, human face. One just like Ventus'. What was the meaning of this? There was so much he didn't understand. It only kept frustrating him. And already, the brief relief that the light that had engulfed him had given him was gone again. Again, he felt restless and irritated and sad and lonely... Again, he thought of how much he loathed this life, having been born, having been created- Vanitas stopped here.

Of course. Xehanort created him. Xehanort, his loathsome, cruel Master. It was Xehanort who had brought him into this world. If only, he could rid himself of Xehanort, could repay to him all this agony he was feeling, somehow, if he could see him suffer, just a little bit... Would that give him a hint of relief, perhaps? To see Xehanort in pain?

Ventus' memories stirring inside him, an idea struck Vanitas' mind and he smirked to himself. Yes, this was what he was going to do.

* * *

Master Xehanort returned to the Keyblade Graveyard in the break of dawn, Ventus walking along besides him. The light of the rising sun played with their silhouettes as they returned to the place where Ventus' heart had been split the evening before. But when they arrived, Xehanort found nothing there. Vanitas, who was supposed to have stayed behind was nowhere to be seen.

"Hm...?"

The circumstances raised Xehanort's suspicions right away and with heightened senses he looked around himself, trying to see if he couldn't spy someone close by. It didn't have to be Vanitas, but somebody was definitely here. He knew that.

"Are you looking for anyone... Old friend?"

Xehanort heard the voice from behind his back and turned. He found the tip of a key pointed into his face, so close that it almost touched his nose. Fierce, dark blue eyes glared at him from behind a single strand of black hair. The sight of this familiar face caused Xehanort to chuckle.

"Eraqus, my friend. Just what brings you out here, I wonder?"

But of course, Xehanort already knew the answer. A glance to the side had revealed to him that his fellow Master had companionship. A boy with pitch black hair was standing right by Eraqus' side, silently starring at the joyless reunion between the two Masters. Even though Xehanort had never seen his face before, he knew immediately that this boy must be Vanitas. So, he had betrayed him. How fitting for a creature of Darkness, to betray and back-stab its own Master...

"Xehanort," Eraqus began to speak in a deep, almost commanding voice. "I had hoped the years would have taught you to rethink your ventures into the Darkness, but regrettably... That does not seem to be the case."

Eraqus' eyes had trailed off slightly, to a place besides Xehanort. He looked at the boy standing next to the man. Ventus' eyes were empty and starring into the distance as if he didn't even register the presence of human beings around him.

And Vanitas was starring as well. At Ventus.

"Just what did you do to this boy?" Eraqus asked Xehanort, his Keyblade still aimed directly between his former friend's eyes.

"I believe you have already seen the answer for yourself." Xehanort laughed out, as if he was just making a lighthearted jest. "I have to say, I wouldn't have thought that you would be this frazzled by what has become of Ventus. After all, were you not always the one who kept telling me of the miraculous power of light in its purest form?"

In response to this statement, Eraqus ground his teeth, thrusting his Keyblade forward. Xehanort, dodged out of the way with ease. Of course, had Eraqus really meant to wound him, it would not have been as easy to evade his attack. But Xehanort knew his old friend just too well. He he had nothing to fear of him.

"Xehanort, can you still not see, that you have strayed off the right path?" Eraqus asked, while taking a stance anew, showing that he was willing to fight if he so must. "I am giving you one last chance. Please. I promise, we will find a way to set all of the wrongs you have already committed right. Together. Repent now, you'll be welcome back, as a fellow Master of the Keyblade."

There was a deep sincerity in Eraqus' voice, one that was very familiar to Xehanort. It was the tone of that same boy he used to spar and play chess against, back when he was still a young man himself. But the face he saw was nothing like that boy's, tarnished by both age, and a large scar across the cheek. Xehanort recognized the spot. This was the wound he himself had inflicted on his friend, long ago.

Xehanort understood one thing well. He would not be able to dispose of or drive away Eraqus as it were now, and even if it were possible, it may not be of advantage to his plan. Vanitas had probably already told Eraqus of everything. If Xehanort tried to take Ventus and Vanitas with him and proceed as intended now, he would only be faced with needless obstacles... It seemed like yet another change of plans was in order.

With a slight smile on his face and a hand behind his back, Xehanort conjured up a rift in the world itself, a portal into the deepest Darkness. At the sight of this, Eraqus, who had hoped that Xehanort's smile was a sign of compliance if some sort, was struck with fright. It was that one moment that Eraqus was frozen in place that gave Xehanort all the time he needed to step backwards, into the embrace of the shadows in the realm behind him.

"Xehanort!" Eraqus screamed and dashed forward, but it was far too late to still reach him. The portal closed and disappeared, the residual Darkness dispersing between Eraqus' fingers like smoke. Silently, he starred at his hand in the spot where the person he used to call his best friend had been standing.

It were the dull sound of something hitting the ground and a grunt, almost like a cut-off whimper, that called Eraqus' attention to elsewhere. He turned and saw Vanitas, standing with one foot on the chest of Ventus, who had tumbled to the dirty ground like ragdoll. Vanitas must have kicked him down.

Vanitas' eyes were fixed on the expressionless face of the boy beneath him. One would have had to be blind to not see the deep, powerful hatred in his stare. The mere sight of Ventus seemed to make Vanitas feel sick, repulsed by all it made him feel and all it reminded him off. In the position he was, he could have crushed Ventus' rib-cage at any time with ease, but instead, he just increased the weight of his leg on the boy's chest. Though Ventus' face did not change, this gesture did not remain without consequences and Ventus' limbs, fingers and even his lips began to tremble, as if to express a fear that he could not feel. He made some slight motions, as if trying to shake Vanitas off and roll up in a ball to protect himself from the other's rage, but they were much too weak and uncoordinated to pose much more than a minor annoyance to his attacker. A bug that had been turned on its back. That was what he reminded Vanitas of. Pathetic and disgusting.

"You're an eyesore..." Vanitas muttered, as he raised his hand above his head and summoned his Keyblade, ready to put an end to what had remained of the person he used to be...

A swift strike knocked Vanitas off-balance before he could do anything else. From one second to the other, he found himself thrust into the dirt, coughing up sand, Ventus still as relatively unharmed as a few moments ago. Vanitas raised his head. Eraqus was glaring down onto him, the Master's Keyblade pointed straight at Vanitas' chest.

Throat tightened. Body stiff as a log. A keyblade. Pointed at his chest. At his _heart_.

 _Again..._

Unversed of fear and mortification spawned from Vanitas as he clenched his teeth, trying to return Eraqus' glare two-fold.

"Creature of Darkness," Eraqus said with deep contempt in his voice. "You will not do any harm to this boy, lest what you wish for is to be purged from the face of this world."

Hearing this, Vanitas could only scoff and chuckle.

"You want to erase me, huh? Well, go ahead. Do it." His eyes slanted. "See if I care."

"So you wouldn't mind if your existence were erased?" Eraqus asked.

"If this is what you'd call an 'existence', then sure. Let's go with that," Vanitas spat out. "This wasn't my choice. But it _is_ my choice to end it. In fact, I feel like doing it, right here... and..."

Vanitas stopped. He had summoned his Keyblade. But now that he was trying to raise it and lead it to his neck, he found that moving his arm was unexpectedly difficult. What was this feeling? His hand was shaking. The thought of what he was trying to do made his chest clam up. The sight of Eraqus' own keyblade, still firmly pointing at his chest didn't make it any better. He could feel his stomach cramping and yet more Unversed of terror emerging from his body.

Vanitas' keyblade finally fell to the ground and disappeared from sight. Disarmed this was, Vanitas glanced over at Ventus. This was all his fault. Ventus' weakness was to blame for this all...

The sight of Vanitas hesitating this way made Eraqus' expression soften. As repulsive as a creation of pure Darkness such as this one was to him, he also knew that Ventus had not chosen to be ripped apart in the way he had been. Perhaps there was still a way to help Ventus's heart mend...

"You and Ventus are two parts of one and the same. There's no telling what the demise of one of you would mean for the other."

Vanitas turned his head, "I don't care about what happens to that little loser."

"I can't even guarantee that a shattered heart such as yours would be able to pass on into Kingdom Hearts."

Those words actually managed to startle Vanitas. For a few moments, his eyes were fixed on the floor. If this was true, and his heart wouldn't be able to pass on were he and Ventus to die, then what would happen to him? Would he just linger? Forever trapped the way he was now...?

Eraqus continued to speak.

"You are the embodiment of the Darkness in Ventus' heart. It is unnatural for you to exist this way. A being like you shouldn't walk in the Realm of Light. But there is no need to destroy Ventus' heart entirely just to put an end to you. As long as both, Ventus and you, are within my grasp there may still be a chance to return you to your rightful place within Ventus' heart without harming the child. From then on out, I will be able to train him to contain his heart's Darkness in a proper way."

Returning to being a part of Ventus' heart... That sounded strangely nice to Vanitas. As if it was right, like it was what _should_ happen, the way it _should_ be. Even though he knew that Eraqus, that arrogant, old idiot, was clearly just meaning to find a way of getting rid of Vanitas in a way that wouldn't hurt Ventus, Vanitas couldn't find it in him to object to what he was saying. He was too... okay with the idea.

Returning to Ventus, being just a part of him again, without any sense of self, any sensations whatsoever... And just leaving all the feeling, all the suffering, all the loathing to that miserable boy.

"Now, you and Ventus will come with me."

Vanitas didn't argue. He saw no reason to. As long as it meant leaving the badlands behind forever, he didn't care where he would be brought.


	2. Apathy

Eraqus himself was surprised by how smoothly the journey back home went. He had expected Ventus' dark aspect to struggle or hinder them with mischief, but the black-haired boy remained silent in the back of his glider, dully watching the stars passing them by as they traversed the lanes between. Ventus himself was just as silent, but in an entirely different way. His frail-looking body was shaking, yet his eyes were empty, devoid of all expression. This young child of only 12 years was in such a sad state that he could barely even comprehend his surroundings right now. Eraqus couldn't even imagine the damage done to his heart... How long would it take to undo it?

The old Master glanced at Vanitas behind him, who was thankfully keeping appropriate distance from Ventus to the extent possible on the glider. A being of pure Darkness, like the creatures spoken of in the old writings... This kind of existence would certainly not be easy to contain and control, but he would have to try. For the sake of Ventus and all those this creature may harm if left to its own designs. He had seen the monsters the being spawned whenever the expression on its face changed ever so slightly. By the time they were leaving the badlands, they were crawling with those beasts over and over. Eraqus had to slay them before they left, lest they might become a menace to travelers in the future. It was then that he had seen the pain caused to Vanitas by their destruction. It seemed that they were a sort of extension of Vanitas' self. He was a truly unstable existence... Eraqus would have to make sure to properly contain this instability before allowing this creature to move in his homelands. He wanted to avoid his two students being endangered at all cost.

They arrived in the morning, as Eraqus' students were training in the main halls.

Aqua, with her 15 years and the younger of the two, was refining her stance. She was executing a complex series of moves she experimented with, trying to find a balance that would allow her to stay agile and yet firm on her feet, even while taking the brunt of a recoil.

"Terra? Would you mind partnering up with me for a moment?" Aqua asked the friend close to her.

Unlike Aqua, Terra, who was slightly older than her at 16 years, was not one to dwell on technique for too long, instead preferring to rely purely on skill and power. Aqua had seen from the corner of her eye that he had been repeating the same exercises for the past half hour. She suspected he gotten through his training plan for the day faster than he had expected and was now just trying to pass the time in boredom.

A glimpse of Terra's eyes when he turned his head to speak to her made Aqua feel like this assertion of hers was spot on.

"Hm? Yeah, sure. What is it? Doing any special exercises?"

"Mhm, kind of." Aqua, again, corrected her stance. "I'm trying to figure out how to distribute my body weight so that I'll be able to stay on my feet even when I'm attacked or taking recoil from my own shots. Of course, that would better with an actual sparring partner..."

"Right. Gotcha."

Without needing any more explanation, Terra positioned himself in front of Aqua, taking a stance of his own.

"Alright, what's it you need me to do? Direct strikes, counters, or sniping?"

"I think I'd like to try and take a couple of your hits for now. I'll try to snipe for you too. You try evading and getting to me while I recover from recoil. If this works as I think it should, my recovery time should be short enough that I'll be able to counter your hits again before you even get to me."

"Okay, got it. Just don't expect me to go easy on you!"

The two Keyblade wielders began their sparring session just the way Aqua had asked for. Terra's slow, but heavy hits crushed down on Aqua like falling boulders, yet she withstood them, trying to maintain her position as she did. The results were decent, but not quite what Aqua had hoped for. Terra's direct strikes made her stumble, the recoil from sniping at him incapacitated her for long enough that she was forced to block Terra's next attacks, rather than countering them. She would have to keep working on this still...

"Hey... What do you think?" Terra spoke to Aqua in-between strikes. "The Master's not shown himself all morning. Just what's keeping him?"

Their blades kept locking.

"Hm... I do wonder where he is. It's not like him to not supervise morning training," Aqua said. "Maybe he had to go out on a mission? Though, I do think he would have told us if that was the case. Strange..."

"Should we ask him once he's back?"

"Well, he is a Keyblade Master. He has a lot of responsibilities that we may not know about just yet. I think it's probably not our place to pry. Though..."

"You're curious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Aqua was trying to focus on the battle, but Terra's words had piqued her interest. Master Eraqus didn't often leave without announcing himself beforehand. Most of his time was dedicated to Aqua and Terra's training, something the two of them had always been very thankful for. It was peaceful times and it was rare for Keyblade wielders like them to be actively needed to step it. What they trained for was to maintain this peace and intercept calamities before they could even occur. For that reason, Aqua couldn't help but wonder what was keeping their Master busy at this hour...

Her question should be answered when the castle door's swung open. Terra's last strike never connected. Aqua and he lowered their weapons the moment they heard the sound. They ran to see who was coming. It was surprising to them to see not only the silhouette of their Master standing in the doorway, but also two other figures. Two boys, several years younger than either of Eraqus' students, followed him into the entrance hall. Aqua and Terra looked on closely, but the blinding light from outside made it hard to make out details. All they could tell was that the boys had similar frames, but one of them had black hair, while the other was a blonde. The black-haired one seemed to be wearing some sort of strange attire, something so perfectly skin-tight that it was almost unsettling. Meanwhile, the blonde just let his head hang, staring at the ground for some reason.

Eraqus looked upwards for a moment, catching a glance of his students, but before Aqua and Terra could even raise their hands to greet him, the Master wordlessly grabbed the wrist of the black-haired boy, dragging him away into the inner rooms of the castle, leaving behind the blonde in the doorway.

"What was that all about?" Terra furrowed a brow in confusion. "Didn't he see us? ...And what about those kids? Are they new apprentices?"

Aqua tilted her head a little, but couldn't make much more sense of what was happening than Terra did. She turned her attention to the doorway again.

"That one boy is still here. Maybe he can tell us what is happening."

"Yeah. Good idea."

A nod at each other, and Aqua and Terra ran down the stairs to the entrance. The boy still stood there in the light of the morning sun, not moving an inch from where Eraqus had lead him. His gaze was empty, trance-like. It was as if his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Aqua was the first to approach him. She gnawed on her lip a little.

"Hey... Are you okay?"

Was it all right for her to talk to him this way? That question crossed her mind. Now that she could see him up-close, the boy didn't seem entirely healthy. He was pale and seemed shaky on his feet. Maybe he wasn't in the condition to talk. And, sure enough, Aqua didn't receive a response. She took a step back, unsure what to do next.

However, Terra was quick to take her place and try his luck.

"I'm Terra. What's your name?"

At first it seemed as if that question would remain just as unanswered as Aqua's. But then, after a few seconds, the boy began to shift a little. Very slowly, he raised his head just the smallest bit, letting his dull, blue eyes be seen.

"Ventus..." The boy breathed out.

* * *

The castle had no back doors, a fact Eraqus regretted immensely right now. He wanted to avoid his students seeing Ventus and Vanitas enter the way they did. Especially Vanitas, as he was far too dangerous the way he was now, unstable and causing Ventus distress just by his mere presence. Eraqus had to change this quickly, or else he would not be able to introduce his students to the new arrivals appropriately.

As Vanitas leaned against the door, disinterestedly letting his gaze trail around Eraqus' chamber, the Master himself was cramming through his drawers containing items he had collected or even forged during the travels in his youth. Finally, he found what he was looking for between some old chess pieces and vials of rare potions. He smiled at the sight. The item was still as good as new.

"Here."

Vanitas turned his head. Eraqus was approaching him, carrying something round and silver. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a ring which had a short chain hanging down from the side of it. A sigil resembling a heart with a cross-shaped tail was carved into both, the ring, as well as the small talisman dangling from its chain.

"...Jewelry?" Vanitas eyed the 'gift' with skepticism.

"You will wear this bracelet," Eraqus said sternly. "You will not be allowed to roam this castle unless you do."

Vanitas scoffed at the way Eraqus said that, but he knew that protesting would not get him anywhere. Even if he wouldn't wear the ring willingly, Eraqus would just put it on him with force, wouldn't he? Without making eye contact, Vanitas stretched out his left arm and let the Keyblade Master do the rest.

The bracelet clasped around Vanitas' wrist with a snapping sound. If he had known what would come next, he would have struggled after all.

Suddenly Vanitas' body felt as if it was being pierced by a thousand needles all over, hot with pain and his skin going numb. It was an agonizing feeling. He would have screamed, but instead he ended up biting his tongue, drawing blood. Vanitas wrapped his arms around his body, struggling to not curl up on the floor and to keep his eyes open, so he could see what exactly it was that was happening to him. There was the feeling of something pulling inward, and through blinking and squinting, Vanitas could make out how the muscle-textured, rubber-like, dark material covering his body began to retreat under his skin, slowly and gradually. Where there were gloves before, there were now skin and fingernails. Where he appeared to be wearing boots before, his feet became now visible and all their ten digits with them. The frame of the helmet he had been created with dissolved, absorbed into his body with the rest of his 'attire'. These things had all been part of his body, but now they vanished, giving way to normal, human skin. When the pain finally stopped, Vanitas gasped, then began to look at himself, his fingers, his arms, his torso. He led the fingers of his right hand across the skin of his left arm. It was smooth and soft to the touch. His skin tone was pale, but not quite as pale as Ventus' face in his current state. Either way, it was the normal arm of a normal human, just as he knew it from Ventus' memories. It almost... fascinated him.

What had happened?

"Wear this."

Eraqus' voice reached Vanitas once more, but this time he couldn't try to look at him before he saw a barrage of fabric thread fly his way. Vanitas caught the ball of cloth... No, clothes. Eraqus had tossed him a set of clothing, containing underwear, a pair of pants, a shirt and a jacket. The design was typical for what Keyblade apprentices tended to wear. It wasn't even all too dissimilar to Ventus' attire.

Vanitas glanced up, as if to inquire if this was supposed to be some kind of bad joke, but Eraqus had turned him his back, decidedly avoiding to look at him. Not that Vanitas minded that. If it had been his choice, Eraqus should have left this room ages ago. As it was, this was nothing but bottomless humiliation... He had a mind to thrust his Keyblade into the back of the man putting him through all of this without even as much as a warning, but he wasn't foolish enough to act on this impulse when his would-be-opponent was clearly far more skilled and powerful than he could hope to be even with the advantage of a surprise moment. There was also the fact that he was not especially keen on fighting while naked. Vanitas began to put on the clothes he had been given. As he did so he realized a strange detail: Despite all the discomfort and even anger he was feeling at the moment, not a single Unversed had been born into this room so far.

"The bracelet you are wearing suppresses physical manifestations of the powers of Darkness," Eraqus suddenly spoke, as if to answer to Vanitas' thought. "It can't entirely inhibit the dark, of course, but it can contain it and keep it inside, where it cannot affect the body as much as it affects the heart."

"You're trying to suppress me, then?" Vanitas asked with a tone that wasn't even trying to hide that he had already been expecting something like this.

"Terra and Aqua... My students must never know what you are," Eraqus explained. "They are too young and inexperienced to know about things such as the old scriptures... Or the existence of fallen Masters. Learning about these things now might cause their resolve to waver and doubts to sprout in their hearts, tainting them."

"You just wanna keep everything nice and clean, don't you, old man? Your friends, your students and your whole little world. I must be a real blot in your landscape to you."

Before Eraqus could answer to Vanitas' spiteful remark, a sound interrupted the two. A scream came from the entrance hall. It didn't take either of them long to figure out what had happened.

Vanitas snorted, "If you're really going to pass the two of us up as 'normal', good luck. Even if I may be able to keep up the act, I can't promise you anything for that little zombie out there."

* * *

"What did you do?!" It was rare for Eraqus to raise his voice against his students the way he was doing right now. Terra and Aqua both looked frantic. While Aqua was scrambling on the floor, trying to somehow help the collapsed Ventus, Terra was gesturing wildly at his Master, professing their innocence.

"Nothing. I just asked him some stuff!" Terra felt at a loss. He had no idea what had happened just now, much less how it could have happened, and worst of all, he felt guilty about it, which was a terrible feeling. The last thing he'd wanted to do was hurt the newcomer, and yet, here they were...

"Ventus cannot tell you anything because he cannot remember anything," Eraqus said.

"He can't... remember?" Terra's arms sunk down. A boy with no memories... An amnesiac?

"Master..." Aqua had raised her hand above the boy's chest. A green glow announced that she was trying to cast a healing spell on him. "He's unconscious... What should we do?"

Eraqus sighed. Of course, it was no surprise that Ventus, in his fragile state, would be overwhelmed by the change in scenery and company. He left him in the entrance hall in hopes of giving him some relief from Vanitas' presence, but perhaps that had been a mistake.

"For now, all we can do is wait for him to wake up, I'm afraid."

"I'll ready a bed for him!" Aqua volunteered.

"And I'll carry him!" Terra joined.

The two of them rushed to try and get Ventus to one of the guest rooms, but stopped briefly when they finally took note of the one other person in the room...

"Umm..." Terra felt a little awkward when he realized that the black-haired boy must have been here all along, but he had been so preoccupied with Ventus that he simply didn't pay attention. That boy had just been quiet all along, almost eerily so. "...You are?"

How could he be so calm when the friend he came with was on the floor like that, Terra wondered.

Vanitas didn't feel like speaking. He had been there, watching as Eraqus' students had flocked around the shell formerly known as Ventus, stroking and petting him as if he was a sick rabbit. He didn't exactly want to associate with that scene in any way.

Eraqus then spoke in his stead.

"This is Vanitas, Ventus'... brother. The two of them were training to wield the Keyblade, but it seems their Master was overwhelmed with the responsibility of watching over his students. There was an accident during their training," he gestured towards Ventus. "Understandably, their Master no longer feels fit to care for them after what happened, so I was asked to take them in."

"I see. So this is where you were this morning, Master," Aqua nodded before she turned her attention to the black-haired boy. "So you're Vanitas? ...I'm sorry. We didn't mean to hurt your brother."

"We're going to bring him to the guest rooms now," Terra interrupted biting his lip to say that. "Um, if you wanna help, you can..."

Vanitas let his eyes meet Aqua's and then Terra's for a couple of seconds. Then, he turned around, leaving for the inner halls of the castle. Aqua and Terra watched him leave, confused.

"What's the deal with him...?" Terra mumbled under his breath. Aqua gestured at him to pipe down.

"Terra, his brother is... He might need some time to process it all, you know?"

"You two shouldn't mind Vanitas," Eraqus turned to his students. "For now, we need to take care of Ventus. Aqua, Terra."

"Yes, Master."

Without any further words, the two future masters picked up Ventus and carefully moved him to a bed, where he would be able to rest and recover.

* * *

 _A short chapter, but don't get used to these. I tend to go into the 10000s when writing single chapters later into my stories. This one is only so short because I'm currently partaking in NaNoWriMo with an original novel and didn't have time to write much more for this fic. Still, I should be able to update this again pretty soon. I've been toying with this story idea for so long, I want it to finally take shape._

 _By the way, I consider younger Aqua and Terra to look different from their "present" counterparts. Mostly Aqua being shorter, less thin and having longer hair and Terra having a physique closer to that of Riku. I know they didn't look younger in the flashback scenes in BbS, but I consider that to mostly be because it would have taken too long to make younger looking models for everyone just for the sake of two short scenes. BbS was still a side-game in the end._

 _I'd like to thank everyone who's written a review so far. Just reading the emotional reactions of my readers is lifeblood to me. ^_^_


	3. Self-Loathing

"Oh, there you are!"

"..."

"We've brought your brother to bed, you know."

"Great."

"This is the room. Would you like to go and see him?"

"No."

This was the entirety of Aqua's first conversation with the black-haired boy whom their Master had brought to this castle alongside Ventus. Not for one second did Vanitas look her in the eyes, and as suddenly as he appeared, leaning against the wall across the door like she always did, just as suddenly he left again, turning around the next corner and not giving Aqua even as much as a chance to ask for the 'why's behind his responses.

"I guess whatever happened with their old Master must have hit him hard," she mumbled to herself, but a familiar voice from behind interrupted.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Terra stepped out of the guest room where they had brought Ventus to rest. He had heard everything with the door wide open as it was. "To me it just looks like he doesn't care."

Aqua tilted her head a little at these claims as well as the grumbling tone in Terra's voice, "You think so, Terra? But he seems so despondent..."

"Or maybe he just _likes_ being a jerk. The way he gave you those responses just now was pretty snappy, almost as if he was enjoying it."

"Or," Aqua added. "He's simply not in a good mood. As anyone in his position would be."

"Hmpf..." Averting his eyes from Aqua, Terra crossed his arms and sighed. "I... Just don't think I like that kid."

"You've decided that already?" asked Aqua.

"I didn't decide anything yet. I'm just saying, I've got a bad feeling about this one."

Hearing her friend say those words, Aqua began to laugh, startling Terra a good bit.

"And what's so funny now?" he asked, taking a confused step back.

Aqua rested her index finger on her chin, "Oh, I just remembered something that Master said the other day..."

"What was that?"

"He said that similar forces tend to reject each other upon first encounter."

Terra took a second to ponder the meaning of this statement, before he understood the implications and his forehead wrinkled with indignation.

"Hey! What are you trying to say?"

"I am remembering, three weeks ago, when the Master called your attack-patterns 'amateurish' and 'transparent'. For two whole days, you wouldn't communicate in anything other than dark glares and grunts, and at dinner, you'd-"

"Listen, I'm nothing like that kid!"

Aqua continued to laugh and snicker as Terra rejected every new parallel she tried to draw. At this point, she was intentionally riling him up, and he knew it. Sometimes there just wasn't much that was more relaxing and carefree in the world to just find a reason to laugh alongside your friend. It worked out just fine. By the end of it all, both, Aqua and also Terra were snickering at how silly the conversation had become and whatever misgivings about Vanitas might have been on Terra's mind before were now certainly like wiped away. The two of them took another glance into the guest chamber.

"Maybe we shouldn't be talking loudly so close to him," Aqua wondered, looking at the boy on the bed.

Terra shrugged, "I don't think he is going to wake up either way."

"I wonder for how long he'll sleep."

"Who knows."

For half a minute, Terra and Aqua silently watched Ventus' chest rise and fall, as if they were awaiting him to wake and sit up any second now. Only then, Aqua waved Terra to free the doorway and closed the room.

"You know..." Aqua was still looking at the door when she began talking to Terra again.

"Yeah?" Terra replied.

"The Master said that this 'Ventus' was hurt during his and his brother's training, right?" Aqua turned. "I was thinking, what if that 'Vanitas'-boy is acting so distant because he blames himself for that? They might have been sparing when it happened, like we always do."

Terra frowned, "I think you're giving that kid a little too much credit there."

"If I was hurt in training with you, how would you act, Terra?"

"I'd make sure you're safe," he answered without a moment of consideration. "And I would definitely _not_ avoid any and all chances I get to help out with your recovery like the plague."

"Hm..." Aqua fell silent. She knew that Terra had a point, but she wasn't convinced yet. Something kept tugging on her mind, like input from a sense she wasn't even aware she had. "That boy... Something about him just seems... Sad."

"Sad?" asked Terra.

"I can't really describe it... but..."

 _'But it didn't feel as if he meant any harm'_ , was what Aqua had meant to say, but she realized that she wasn't too sure about this herself and decided to not finish the sentence. Terra's puzzled expression was answered with a shake of a head and Aqua assured him that it was nothing important and he shouldn't worry about it.

* * *

The days that followed in the castle were fairly calm and yet awkward. Terra's and Aqua's usually so rigorous training hours had been cut down significantly by the time required for them to take care of Ventus' well-being. Both of them had volunteered to take turns of looking after the boy as soon as the issue first came up and now they worked together to help Ventus wash, get dressed and even eat. As for Vanitas, though he could often be found wandering the castle halls at random, he never showed himself inside Ventus' room during those early days.

"Figures, that he'd leave all the hard work to us," moaned Terra on the afternoon of the second day.

"Just give him a little time," replied Aqua, who was cleaning Ventus's face with a moist cloth. "Who knows what is going through his head?"

On the evening of the third day, Ventus opened his eyes for the first time since his collapse. Aqua, who was watching over him at the time immediately called everyone over to see him. ' _It's a miracle!_ ' she'd yell, clearly having feared the worst for the boy until that point. It was an excitement which Vanitas could not comprehend in the least. He ( _of course_ ) had been feeling all along that Ventus wouldn't die just yet; Not in his current state. Aqua's yells only turned into a pointless, grating kind of noise in his ears, which reminded him of how hard it would be to find peace around here with these people around. Of course, he dared not raise a hand against Aqua to shut her up, because he knew exactly how Eraqus would punish such an outburst. It seemed like needless effort anyway, he supposed.

Terra and Master Eraqus hurried to the chamber as soon as they heard the call. Vanitas only went as far as the space next to the door. Idly he leaned against the wall and listened to the people inside talk. By the time they left, he was gone again already.

The morning of the fourth day was the first of many periods in time featuring Ventus staring into the distance absentmindedly.

"So, does anything hurt?" Aqua didn't receive a response to her question. Before the eyes of Master Eraqus and Terra, she stroked Ventus' face and again asked him, "Are you sure you're not in pain?"

Ventus stayed quiet, eyeing the ceiling as if it were the most interesting object in closer vicinity.

"Or are you hungry?"

Though also that last question remained unanswered, Ventus still moved his head just the smallest bit.

"I still got some of the cake I baked yesterday left. I'll bring you some!" With that, Aqua left the room. Terra then threw a teasing look at Ventus.

"So, you proud now?" He asked with a grin. "Hey, if it's getting too much for you, maybe you should take it easy. After all, you only just woke up."

Aqua returned to the room with a plate full of sponge-cake with sugary icing. A loud groan from Terra's side could be heard at his sight of it. Of course, Aqua didn't let a potential incoming lesson on nutrition courtesy of Professor Terra stop her. Cutting off a tiny piece of cake with a fork, she proceeded to slowly and carefully feed Ventus, animating him to chew with gentle words. After about three bites or so, Aqua eventually offered the plate to Ventus, who actually accepted it and began eating of his own. He looked more like a mechanical doll repeating preset motions than an actual human eating, but it was progress nevertheless and the faces of Aqua, Terra and their Master lit up in relief at the sight of it.

"Still, he has yet to completely recover." warned Master Eraqus. "We will need to keep watching him attentively for now."

"Yes, Master," said Terra and Aqua at once.

Terra then looked Ventus directly in the eyes and spoke to him, "So, when you're finished with Aqua's calorie-bomb, get some more rest, OK?"

"Don't let dear Terra's complaining confuse you Ventus, he merely isn't a great friend of sweet food. I can assure you that Aqua is quite the skilled baker," Master Eraqus added in an almost comically serious manner. Terra could only sigh and shake his head at that.

"Excuse me Master, but I will never get how you and Aqua can love stuff that tastes like it had been trice-dipped in sugar syrup."

A brief debate regarding the castle's meal plan sprung up from this exchange, which continued between Master Eraqus and Terra, even after Aqua had assured the later that she still had some of his favorite hazelnut-flavored dessert in the kitchen. Not seeing an end to the discussion anytime soon, Aqua sighed and left the room. Vanitas was standing a little to the left, across from the door, intently studying the patterns on the wallpaper.

"So you have been here?" asked Aqua. Vanitas would not grace her with a response. "Ventus has been awake since last night. Are you sure you don't want to see him?"

Still Vanitas didn't acknowledge Aqua's presence. She couldn't help but find that Vanitas' distant eyes and the way he stayed silent made him seem just all the more similar to his brother, at least at the moment.

"I just thought that seeing you might help him feel better, you know," Aqua then said and suddenly, the silence from Vanitas' side was broken. He snorted loudly.

"I doubt that." There was the echo of a bitter laugh in Vanitas' voice.

"Do you and Ventus not get along?" asked Aqua.

"Even if, what's it mean to you?"

"Nothing. I'd just like to know more about the two of you. We are going to train here together from now on after all."

Vanitas turned his head away, almost as if to cast doubt on that statement. "I'm only here because I have to be. That's got nothing to do with you or the other guy."

"You can use the Keyblade, right?"

That question came out of nowhere, at least from Vanitas' point of view. For the first time in the conversation, he actually turned his head to look at Aqua.

"Yeah...," he nodded and raised his hand. His weapon appeared in it. Then, he gave Aqua a puzzled look.

She just smiled, "That means you have a strong heart."

"Hm?"

"The Keyblade chooses the future Master," said Aqua. "A weak heart can't manifest a Keyblade, no matter how it is given to it. The Keyblade's power itself comes from the wielder's heart. At least, that's what the Master told us."

Vanitas said nothing to that, but only looked at his weapon with the same confused look he'd looked at Aqua with before. What she was saying wasn't anything he'd ever heard before, nor did it make a lot of sense to him. Maybe she was only making this up to taunt him somehow? But as he was still thinking that, Aqua continued speaking.

"You and Ventus are probably amazing Keyblade Wielders. The Master wouldn't have offered to take you here if you weren't," she closed her eyes and smiled brightly. "I'm looking forward to training together with the both of you. I'm sure we'll have a lot to learn from each other."

With those words and not one more, they parted. Aqua left for the right side of the corridor, Vanitas examined his Keyblade for a little longer, then left for the left side. He had little interest in being Eraqus' student, especially seeing how Aqua's conclusion that he and Ventus had been taken in for their talent was erroneous, yet what she said before that still fascinated him. If wielding the Keyblade said the heart - _his heart_ \- was strong, did that mean he was powerful? Even though he had been taken from this weak, pathetic little boy, Ventus? Maybe he really was the strong part of Ventus, and Ventus wouldn't be able to manifest a Keyblade without him, even if he ever were to recover? Vanitas found himself smirking. The thought of Ventus trying to summon the Keyblade in front of these people placing such high expectations in him only to fail made him feel unusually giddy. Even so, that feeling only lasted for a moment and Vanitas quickly remembered how ridiculously weak Ventus had been out in the badlands, even when the two of them had still been one. Too weak to fight, too weak to defend himself, to weak to even defy his Master... It disgusted Vanitas.

 _'If even I, as the strong part of such a weak person, can wield the power of that Keyblade,'_ he thought to himself _'Then the bar can't be too high.'_

With that thought, he tossed his Keyblade to the ground, where it shattered and disappeared, and continued on his way to the room he'd been given.

* * *

The next morning Vanitas found that a note had been slipped under the door to the room he was staying in.

 _Would you join us at breakfast today? I overdid it a little and made too much, so there's more than enough for everyone._

 _I'm sure the Master would appreciate your presence as well._

 _~Aqua_

A frown and a groan. The girl again. It figured she would be the only one who hadn't learned to stay out of his hair by now. Vanitas had a good mind to just tear up the note and continue to go about his day by himself, when the second line caught his attention. _'The Master would appreciate your presence'_. Did that mean that Eraqus himself demanded that he come? Yeah, that sounded about right. The Master-ish thing to do. Give a vague command in a round-about way, then punish him when he fails to follow to perfection.

...Vanitas decided to go. Whatever, he hadn't eaten in half a week anyway. Even if the sort of being he was probably didn't actually need to eat, his stomach felt like a bottomless pit and listening in as the babysitter squad fed that barely-alive excuse for a person cake the other day had at very least made him curious as to what these people usually had for meals. He might actually end up getting some pleasure out of it. Even so, getting to the dining hall from his sleeping quarters was a pain. The castle was large and there was a whole wing separating these two rooms, but at least Vanitas knew exactly where he needed to go. Spending the past days strolling about the castle, avoiding conversation with its inhabitants, had given him a decent sense of orientation for this place if nothing else and he didn't really need to think much about his steps as he walked down the hallways, giving him a chance to drift off into his thoughts. White noise with some brief moments of comfort and relative safety. Right now, Vanitas could sense Ventus' heart clearly. It had been like this ever since Ventus had awoken a few days ago. Every time something touched Ventus, causing him to feel emotion, a part of that would spring over to him. Not enough to actually experience it, only so much that he knew what it was. He had sensed shock when Ventus opened his eyes, comfort when Aqua was petting his hair, and some fragments of happiness when she fed him. Vanitas had no idea if this connection worked both ways but he didn't exactly care if it did. It wasn't as if he felt anything he didn't want Ventus to share anyway.

Still... He had to admit, if Aqua's cooking was enough to inspire a semblance of joy in Ventus' empty shell, Vanitas definitely wouldn't mind being able to try for himself.

He arrived in the dining hall with what some people might describe as 'fashionable lateness'. Master Eraqus and Terra were, however, clearly not among these people. Suspicious, almost confused glares met with Vanitas' as he opened the hall's doors and stepped inside. There were a few moments of silence during which none of those present seemingly even dared to chew their food, as Vanitas stepped up to the table, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"So," Eraqus was the one to break the silence. "You have decided to join us for the morning?"

The tone in his voice was freezing cold. Vanitas had a good mind to just pick up the glass cup on the table before him and smash it into the old geezer's face. But he knew better than that. Wordless, he sat down at the very opposite end of the table from the three already present, so that there were about five chairs on each side between him and the rest of the Keyblade wielders. The silence returned for a bit, as Vanitas crossed his legs and arms and examined a nearby wall, seemingly ignoring the others' presence. After a few moments, the three finally let off from observing him. They went back to cutting their food into pieces, eating and chattering between bites.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Vanitas finally heard Aqua's voice from across the table.

He glanced into her direction, but only briefly. He shrugged.

"If you want me to eat so badly, get me some."

A fork hit a porcelain plate much harder than it should have. At once, Terra's hands were flat on the table and his eyes were fixed on the boy on the other side.

"You-"

"Terra..." Aqua cut him off in a quiet, but stern manner.

For a moment it looked as if Terra was about to lash out at Vanitas in some way, but Aqua's reprimand quickly won out. Disgruntled, the young man sat down again, pushing his chair back closer to the table. All the while throughout this, Vanitas showed no reaction. Aqua looked at both of them, one after another, before she sighed.

"You could reach the food on your own if you sat a little closer to us, you know?" she carefully told Vanitas.

"Yeah. So what?" he replied.

"If you don't wanna try anything, we'll not make you eat," Aqua continued. "Though, that'd be a shame. We've got really delicious Raspberry Creme Cake today. Terra never eats much of it, so if you won't have any, I guess everything the master and I can't finish will have to go to Ventus..."

That made Vanitas listen up. She'd feed the cake to Ventus... Immediately the memories of the last time Ventus had eaten her cooking came back to him. Those fleeting fragments of Ventus' happiness that had reached him, too small to actually have an effect on Vanitas himself, but still clearly there.

It took only a few seconds from that point on until Vanitas grabbed the plate in front of him, rose from his chair, and walked to the other side of the table, where he begun to shovel as much of the cake adorning the largest silver plate onto his own plate as it could possibly hold. He then returned to his own seat. Aqua's eyes followed him and if he'd paid actually attention, he'd have been able to tell that she seemed satisfied. Terra, however, scoffed.

"Greedy, aren't we..."

But Aqua chuckled, "Actually, I think I'm beginning to understand something."

"Hm?" Terra, who'd already started eating again, tilted his head at her.

"Well, what I figured out is not a good thing," she whispered to Terra. "But I think knowing it will still help to make things work better in the long run... Probably."

Vanitas paid no attention to Aqua's and Terra's mumbling among each other. What was on his plate was of much greater interest to him. Still, going to take the cake had been one thing. Actually eating it was another. His eyes were locked on the plate as he waited for appetite to kick in, but nothing of that sort happened. Neither the sweet smell of the blood-red berries or the tantalizingly fluffy texture of the cake itself seemed to motivate him to actually take a fork and put it into the dish. The thought that he hadn't eaten anything ever since he'd been 'created' crossed Vanitas' mind again, and he began to wonder once more if there was any point whatsoever to him being here. And yet, these bakeries had allowed even that mindless shell of a bug that was Ventus to feel a semblance of happiness. It had to at least be worth a try.

One fork full of cake later, Vanitas regretted everything.

The sound of gagging and tableware hitting the floor attracted the attention of Eraqus of his students, and they soon realized that the person across from them on the table looked as if he were slowing suffocating, coughing up pieces of food.

An alarmed Aqua leaped up from her seat and rushed over to him.

"What's wrong!?" she asked, her face pale with shock. "I-Is everything alright? I'll-"

 _"S-Sweet..."_ Vanitas finally managed to spit out the last pieces of cake still in his mouth. "It's _too damn sweet_!"

As surprising as Vanitas' choking had be, as heavy and awkward was the short silence that followed his words. Aqua just looked at him with her mouth just a little open, her brows furrowed, utterly confounded, as if she wanted to say something, but had no idea what.

And then, just a few moments later, something even more surprising happened, when a wide-eyed Terra rose from his seat.

"R-Right!?" he exclaimed, almost as if he himself couldn't believe what he was doing. His face looked as if he'd just received a divine revelation from the ancient Keyblade Wielders themselves. "It _IS_ too sweet! The sugar just invades everything, it covers up the entire flavor and makes the whole thing taste like syrup! And it's _not_ just me! _I always knew it wasn't just me!_ "

Baffled by what was happening, Aqua quickly jumped to defend herself.

"W-Wait! That can't be. I always follow the Master's recipes to a tee! The only thing I vary it up for are the garnishes, and..."

"Then maybe that 'Master' of yours just doesn't know a damn thing about what food's supposed to be like." Vanitas growled, trying to force the remnants of the flavor out of his mouth. "Because whatever _this_ is, it sure as hell isn't edible!"

By now, Eraqus was only starring at what was unfolding before him with a hand on his forehead, unwilling to believe that any of this was actually happening in his dining hall. In the first place, what was going on and how had it come to this? He'd known that Vanitas would cause mischief sooner or later, no doubt, but this was definitely not what he'd been thinking of.

"Now, now, Aqua. This is no reason to doubt yourself. I assure you, your skill is as superb as ever, after all, Terra not being a friend of sweet desserts is nothing new to either of us," Eraqus said to Aqua in the most soothing voice he could muster. Then, he turned his eyes to Vanitas. "My recipes _are fine_."

There was nothing soothing about the way he said that last part. Quite the opposite, actually.

Vanitas scoffed, "Yeah, just keep telling yourself that..."

Before his remark could produce any further responses from the peanut gallery, Vanitas decided he did not need to deal with this any longer. He'd already tasted the food and now knew it was terrible. Who knew what it'd been he'd sensed from Ventus. A lack of functioning taste buds, maybe. It was not a reason to stay here any longer, that was for sure. One chair tossed aside, and he was outside the hall, no even bothering to close the door behind him.

His steps led him towards the nearest washroom sooner than he could even consider why he was going there. Water. He needed something to wash that disgustingly saccharine taste out of his mouth. The faucet was turned on and the cool water splashed into his face before Vanitas could even take in his surroundings. Once he'd spat a good amount of saliva mixed with tap water into the basin, he finally looked up, finding himself in front of a pane of glass, starring at his own mirror image.

There were mirrors in many places in the castle, so of course this was not the first time Vanitas had seen his own face. But it was the first time he took a moment to focus, to really look at it and take it in. It felt so familiar and so alien all at once, that face.

The person looking back at Vanitas was a child, a young teenager of just the same age as Ventus, with a face of the same shape, the same size and even with the same nose as that of the Keyblade-wielding boy who used to be Xehanort's student. Yes, if it'd been up to the shape and proportions of his body and facial structures alone, one could definitely have mistaken Vanitas and Ventus for the same person still. But this was where their similarities ended. Ventus' hair was dirty blond and short. The hair of the boy Vanitas was looking at was long - at least shoulder-long, though its wild, disheveled style made it hard to tell - and it was pitch black like tar. Where Ventus' skin was healthily tan and rosy, Vanitas was pale to the point that he could see the dark veins underneath shine through. How surprising it felt to know that he had veins to begin with. Did this mean that he had blood? If he were to be cut, would he bleed red, just the same as Ventus? Somehow he found this hard to believe.

This face and body were like Ventus', but they weren't Ventus'. The person Vanitas was looking at, _he_ , was something completely different entirely. Something that shouldn't be here. He knew that much. Still, it was a thought that made him dizzy, so lightheaded that he felt as if his feet were being torn from the ground, and he was floating, away, looking onto himself from the outside, dissociated from the appearance of the boy in the mirror, this face, this body and especially Ventus. A feeling like floating in empty space. He hated it.

Just like how he hated the cake Ventus loved so much.

He came from Ventus. It was where and who he was supposed to be. But since it'd been Ventus' weakness that had separated them, it felt only right to hate Ventus for it. Only natural. He was the cause of everything. He was the reason Vanitas was here, looking at someone so unreal in the mirror. Someone who couldn't actually exist, at least not really.

' _Whatever_ ,' Vanitas thought to himself. _'It's not like this will last for long anyway. Soon enough, the old man will find a way to put Ventus back together the way he used to be. I'll just cease to exist, and that will be the end of it. No more thinking, no more wondering, no more feeling. No more annoying people trying to talk to me or look at me. No more 'me'. Just Ventus. Ventus, dealing with everything that has happened, all the crap I am feeling, as he should. What happens after that doesn't matter. I don't care.'_

A towel, used to dry his face, then carelessly tossed to the floor.

 _'Let him be confused in my stead.'_

When Vanitas stepped outside the washroom, his plan had been to make a beeline for his bedroom and go back to sleep for the rest of the day as quickly as possible. He had not expected to find a person waiting for him out there, right in front of the door. Even more surprising, that person wasn't a blue-haired girl with a bright, gentle smile on her face. It was a teenage boy with dark brown hair and a face that seemed stuck in a permanent scowl whenever Vanitas saw him. Terra, Eraqus' eldest student, wasn't it?

"Hey." The older boy forced out, clearly avoiding eye-contact. Vanitas did not return the half-hearted greeting.

"You're in my way," he said, preparing himself to push past Terra, if necessary by shoving him out of the way, but before it came to that, Terra held out his hand to Vanitas' face. Vanitas found that there was an object in Terra's palm: A small, food-looking, brown-lump, roughly the size of a baseball.

"What's that for?" Vanitas act, curiosity sneaking its way into his ever-annoyed voice.

"Food. I mean, _actual_ food." Terra explained. "It's, um, walnut bread. Sometimes, when the Master and Aqua are busy, I go into the kitchen to make this... Don't you dare tell Aqua."

Terra turned his head away from Vanitas even more, yet still, Vanitas could see the color on the taller boy's face changing slightly. What for? Embarrassment, perhaps? Vanitas needed a moment to realize that, right, Terra was probably telling him that the girl, that 'Aqua', was not supposed to know that he could bake. That only made Vanitas scoff and smirk a little.

"If you don't want her to know, why are you showing me this? Genius."

"I'm not showing, I'm _giving_ ," Terra corrected, sounding annoyed. "I mean... This is for you. Here."

And with those words, Terra shoved the lump of bread into Vanitas' empty hands, forcing it in until Vanitas finally closed a fist around it. The payload passed on, Terra grunted a little, nodded, and then turned on his heels. He left down the hallway without another word.

Vanitas was left behind without any understanding of what had just occurred. Somehow, he felt mocked. Did he even want to know what exactly had happened? First the girl, now the boy. These people just made less and less sense to him with each time he spoke to them.

Lost in his thoughts, Vanitas didn't even realize when he raised the bun of bread to his mouth and took a hearty bite from it. The moment right after, he paused. Silently, he starred at the wall in front of him, before his jaw began moving and he chewed.

When his teeth hit the crust and crushed it, it felt satisfying. The taste of the salt in the soft body underneath felt like a prize. And finally, the pieces of walnut he ground up under his teeth released just a tiny bit of sweetness into the mix. Just a little.

He had to admit, this was some really good bread.

* * *

 _A/N: Bleh, it took me way too long to post this, mostly because I ended up working on my novel instead AND life kept me busy. I really should try to write more of this though, it's a good exercise._

 _This chapter contains a lot of elements from the official BbS novels, including an entire scene quoted almost ad-verbatim from the Japanese version of the bonus chapters (not the official translation, never read that one). I know, Vanitas is being unbearable, but this is where he's starting out from, being nothing but a ball of teenage angst and other undesirable psychology ripped from the rest of his personality. If I were writing an original work here, I doubt I'd be using a main character like this, since I don't actually enjoy writing insufferably edgy people, but I suppose it's a good exercise. Also, in my head, it eventually pays off very well later in the story, so I hope I'll be able to convey that pay-out appropriately to you all!_

 _Thanks so much for reading and enjoying!_


	4. Caring

Though Ventus and Vanitas were no longer one being, they remained connected. It was just one of those many little things that made life oh-so-inconvenient for the later of the two.

As the days passed by Ventus' condition had slowly begun to improve and with that improvement came emotions, sometimes fleeting, sometimes so strong and sudden they would take Vanitas by surprise, pulling him out of whatever he was doing at that moment. Fragments of comfort, moments of satisfaction and, occasionally, a strong desire to burst into laughter. Those all were emotions Ventus felt, emotions Vanitas sensed from him. And yet, neither of them ever actually laughed. Ventus did not laugh, because the haze still clouded his mind, numbing it to his own feelings. Vanitas did not laugh, because whatever small piece of warm sensation he received would never last for long before it would scatter and fade away again, leaving him with nothing but the cold void of his own half-heart. It was always just sudden enough to shock him and make him stumble in his step, but too transient to actually make him want to smile. It made him feel peace though, if only for a brief moment. Those few, precious seconds that Ventus' feelings would distract Vanitas from his own were relieving to him, and so he would savior them whenever they occurred. All the more did he hate it when eventually his negative thoughts would return again, and do so with vengeance, as if to make up for their much too brief periods of absence.

Yes, being able to share Ventus' emotions was a double-edged sword to Vanitas, much in the same way as the "gift" which his new "Master" had bestowed upon him. The talisman Eraqus had forced Vanitas to wear upon his arrival here had worked just as intended so far, preventing Vanitas from spawning Unversed with his emotions, unintentionally or not. To Vanitas, who had felt deeply disgusted by the mere sight of the creatures born from him, this should have been a blessing, but it wasn't quite that simple. Just because the Unversed no longer materialized, it didn't mean that Vanitas no longer felt these things that made him feel sick in the stomach about himself. The emotions were still there, he just couldn't see them, touch them or destroy them anymore. He no longer had any sort of outlet to relief himself of his aggression and anger, not even at the cost of hurting himself. He could still smack his blade against the castle walls, he supposed, but that would only serve to wake Eraqus' ire, something he could definitely do without.

The truth was that Vanitas was scared. He felt weak, frail, unable to shield himself from the pain he hated so much. He wanted to grow stronger, desperately so. But how to acquire that strength? Maybe it was this line of thought, which eventually drove Vanitas, in one of his rare moments of tranquility, to wander outside the castle walls, and, as if in trance, to suddenly find himself on the training grounds of Eraqus' students, quietly observing the blue girl and the boy who shared the bread with him fighting from a distance.

Aqua and Terra charged at each other, their blades locking and clashing, again and again, in the same rhythm. Comparing this scene to his memories of the last battle fought by Ventus against the creatures in the badlands, Vanitas found that they were nothing alike. The two teenager's motions were coordinated, controlled, choreographed... almost as if they were dancing. There was no hurt on their faces, none of the agony that Ventus had felt, before it went on to become Vanitas. In his mind Vanitas was aware that they were training - The weapons they used weren't even actual Keyblades, but replicas, made of wood - but his heart found it difficult to comprehend what any of this had to do with battle, and how something that seemed so benign, so downright non-threatening, could make anybody stronger.

 _'Is it because I am not Ventus?'_ Vanitas wondered to himself. _'Would he understand this? Would I understand, if I still were part of him?'_

Thinking about Ventus this way made Vanitas feel spiteful again. As if this all were Ventus' fault. Well, in a way, it was. Being too weak to resist Xehanort, allowing him to rip him, no, _them_ , apart like this... Of course this was Ventus' fault. There was no reason to doubt that fact.

It occurred to Vanitas that he was just wasting his time by sitting by and watching Eraqus' pampered hatchlings poke each other with big sticks, so he pushed himself up and rose from the patch of grass he'd been sitting on. A moment later, he considered if maybe he shouldn't just have crawled away on all four, hidden in the bushes. The blue girl had stopped dancing with her friend. She had noticed Vanitas.

"Hey!" She called out to him, waving the hand in which she was holding her wooden sword high up in the air. "Did you come to spar? I can lend you my training blade, if you need one!"

 _'Training blade'._ How could she even call those things that in all seriousness? Vanitas found himself scoffing at the words. Did she really think he came just to play with their toys? Could she be trying to make fun of him? Vanitas ground his teeth. She was, wasn't she? She probably thought he was too weak for actual battle, too pathetic for a true fight...

"We really don't mind taking turns, you know!"

... Taking turns. Like children. Like little toddlers that needed praise and acknowledgment. 'Spar' she said. 'Spar' she offered. Well, 'spar' they would. But not by her rules. Not in her way. His left hand curled into a fist and his right hand clinging to his summoned Keyblade, Vanitas dashed off, down the hill, onto the training grounds and right towards Aqua.

"Wha- _AH_!"

The young mage just barely managed to realize what was happening, when Vanitas was already three meters in front of her. At the very last moment, she managed to dodge, throwing her body out of the way of Vanitas thrusting the Void Gear at her like a lance.

"Aqua!" she heard Terra yell over her own gasps.

"I-I'm okay!" she assured him, but that was all she had time to say, before the next strike came. "Gh!"

This time, Aqua was prepared. She jumped about a meter into the air, then used Vanitas' Keyblade, which was still mid-swing, as a springboard to extend her leap. With that she managed to fly right over him, landing just two meters behind the other Keyblade user. Vanitas' eyes widened at the sight. How had she managed that? If there was one thing Ventus- No, _he_ had always been confident in, it was his speed. So, how-?

" _Freeze_!" Vanitas heard a voice from behind him sound out, and he whirled around, bracing himself for an incoming spike of ice. It never came. Instead of attacking with it, Aqua had broken and dispersed her own ice spell as soon as it had manifested, creating a smoke-screen of shimmering ice-crystals for herself. The dazzling light of the afternoon sun reflecting off them was enough to blind Vanitas, even if just for a second. By the time he opened his eyes again, Aqua was nowhere in sight.

"Gh- What? Where did she-"

 _"Pardon me!"_

A laugh sounded out to Vanitas'... right? He did not have the time to turn. A light step and the sound of wood cutting through the air at a swift speed. No time to move out of the way. Vanitas tore his Keyblade up in front of his body, defending from the incoming strike. Wood hit on ethereal Mithril with a loud clang. Vanitas' and Aqua's blades had locked, along with their eyes. A dumbstruck look on his face, Vanitas stared in his opponent while maintaining the pressure against his weapon. For some inexplicable reason, Aqua was _smiling_ at him.

"Hey! That's really good!" She said. "Your stance and movements are perfect! You must have been really well taught."

Happiness. There was happiness on her face. Why? Was she mocking him? Vanitas felt rage flare up in him. It was a power strong enough to push through Aqua's defenses and break the blade-lock with her. As she stumbled back a few steps, Vanitas roared, preparing for his next strike.

"Ah! Wait! Now you're being too hasty! See?"

And then, Vanitas' Void Gear hit grass. Aqua wasn't there anymore. She had jumped, no, cartwheeled out of the way. With ease, as if it were nothing. Vanitas' eyes were wide and bloodshot. What was going on? He was faster than her, he _knew_ it. So why couldn't he get a hit in on her?

"Calm down! You're being too impulsive!" Vanitas heard Aqua call from the side. He turned his head, to find her standing there, calmly, gesturing at him as she spoke. "The Master has taught us, if you want to control the tide of battle, you need to control yourself first. Hm... I'm actually not entirely sure I can explain it. Does it make sense to you?"

"Aqua, I don't think this is a good idea!" Terra interjected. "Didn't you see how that guy just stormed at you? This isn't normal! Let's call the Master."

"Just let me try, Terra," Aqua replied. "Everything is going to be fine. This is just training, remember?"

"He's using his Keyblade! I don't think it's just training to him!"

Aqua knew that, of course, but she had no time to elaborate further on her reasoning to Terra. Vanitas had finally broken free of the befuddlement that her lecture had caused him. Now he was coming at her, dashing through the air at a speed that seemed almost inhumane. The only person Aqua had ever seen move faster than this was her Master. Still, even that wasn't an issue. It took her just a simple thought to realize which step she needed to take, where she needed to evade to, and when to strike. Two dodged slices later, Vanitas and her were blade-locked once more.

"I know that it's tempting to just rush in and use all your power at once," she told him at this chance. "After all, everyone wants to show what they can do, right? That's just natural. But it's making you predictable."

"P-Predictable!?" Vanitas sputtered.

"Yes. Like, for example..."

Aqua saw Vanitas' eyes narrow. That was her clue. In a single motion, the boy pulled his Keyblade away, and tried to thrust it straight at her, but as this was happening, Aqua had already jumped. Now she was standing right on the tip of the Void Gear, as if walking on a balance beam. Aqua laughed.

"Wow! Really? I haven't managed to do that with Terra's Keyblade in so long!"

"Because I don't give you the chance anymore," Terra grumbled from the side. "Aqua, quit fooling around! Can't you see that this kid is trying to hurt you!?"

"He isn't going to."

"Aqua!"

With a loud roar, Vanitas shook Aqua off his Keyblade. Not that he actually needed to. She had enough foresight to leap off the weapon before he could bring her to fall. Immediately Vanitas threw the Void Gear to the ground, causing it to shatter. Twice. That was _twice_ now that she had managed to use his Keyblade as a springboard for her maneuvers. It didn't even take her any effort. She was just playing with him! Taunting him with her laughter, making a fool of him with her tricks, treating him like a weak, pathetic, worthless worm, a child, not worthy of her attention, not worthy of her respect, her fear-

The Void Gear was resummoned, and he swung it at her. And swung. And swung. It didn't matter how fast he dashed, it didn't matter how he turned, or leaped, how much force he used... He couldn't hit her. He just couldn't manage to get in a single, solitary, measly...

"Calm down," he heard Aqua say again, and she really did sound calm. Not exhausted, not the least bit strained. Very much unlike Vanitas when he uttered his next words.

" _Gah_...Why... should I?"

Blade-locked. Again.

"Because," Aqua looked him in the eyes and for the first time since he had begun to attack her, she looked dead serious. "Even if you're really trying to hurt me, I am not trying to hurt you."

There was a beat, a moment of silence. A couple of seconds when neither Aqua, nor Vanitas moved a muscle or said a word. Her deep-blue eyes remained on him, however, and Vanitas realized that the way she was focused on his eyes was peculiar. It was a look that he couldn't give a name to, no matter how much he tried. As if this look, meant for him, was supposed to make him feel something, but he didn't know what it was. He couldn't feel anything.

"I get it now. The Darkness has a strong hold on you, doesn't it?"

Vanitas shook as Aqua said those words, and as she did, she pulled her blade away from his. She stood in his front, still looking at him with these indecipherable eyes.

"Vanitas... That's your name, right? I'm sorry if I'm saying it wrong. I've only heard it once ever since you first came here, but I want to make sure that I am saying it right."

He said nothing. He was still in that same defensive stance he had been in when his blade had last connected with Aqua's.

"Vanitas - and I really hope I am saying it right - Can I ask you something?" Aqua said. "When I invited you to train with Terra and I just now, did you think that I was trying to hurt you?"

Vanitas lowered his arms.

"Or when I tried to talk to you before? When I slipped you that note to eat with us? When I asked you if you wanted to see Ventus?"

He let his Keyblade drop to the floor. Aqua followed the Void Gear with her eyes as it hit the ground and disappeared. It was easy to tell by the way she kept her gaze lowered after that that she took this to be his answer.

"I've felt it ever since you've first come here," she spoke, slowly raising her head again. "I can see it in your eyes. You're always on guard. Always afraid. It's as if you feel like everything... and everyone you meet is trying to make you feel hurt."

' _Everything_ _ **does**_ _hurt_ ,' Vanitas found himself thinking, and he scoffed at Aqua, turning his head away.

"Whatever happened to you... you and Ventus, back with your old Master, it didn't only wound Ventus," Aqua said. "I can tell. It's left your heart stained, hasn't it? That's why you act as if nothing good is ever going to happen to you. As if you're locked away in a dark place, with no way out..."

At once, Vanitas head snapped forward. He was glaring at Aqua.

"Why do you care!?" he spat at her, and then he stopped. ' _Care_ '. That was it. That's what that look she was giving him meant. That look that made him feel nothing. Aqua _cared_.

"Because!" Aqua took a step forward towards Vanitas, as if alarmed by him raising his voice. "I've never felt such a powerful Darkness before! And you're just a child. There's no way you could have brought this upon yourself. Nobody deserves to feel this way. So many terrible feelings. You shouldn't have to feel that hurt."

Vanitas froze that moment, right where he stood, stiff to the core, unable to react to what he'd just heard. It wasn't even that she'd seen right through him, had identified the Darkness that he really was. No, what really had stopped him right down to his breath was what else she said.

 _'There's no way you could have brought this upon yourself.' 'You shouldn't have to feel that hurt.'_

 _'You don't deserve this pain.'_

What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to feel? Something was stirring, inside him, but it was faint. It wasn't like the fragments of emotion he felt from Ventus. No, whatever this was, it came from himself, but it was weak, distorted. He wasn't sure if he liked it. But he didn't hate it either. Frankly, it just scared him.

"Listen... Kid."

Terra, who'd been standing by almost idly all this time had finally stepped in. His arms crossed, he avoided Vanitas' line of sight. But he was talking to him.

"I'll be honest with you. I don't like you. I think you have a terrible attitude. But if Aqua is right, and you're really just in a rough patch right now, then you need to let us know. If nothing is done about that, the Darkness is going to-"

"Shut. UP!" Vanitas snapped out of his stiffness and yelled. "What do _you_ know about the Darkness! I bet _your_ Master hasn't ever let you see as much as just a starless sky!"

"And your Master has?" Aqua asked, and she sounded worried.

Why was he talking to them? Why was he telling them these things? It wasn't as if that was going to change anything. Nothing was ever going to change. He knew that all too well. With one last low growl and a _'tch'_ , Vanitas turned his back on the two older Keyblade wielders and walked away, not losing another word to them. Still, he could still hear them talking behind him as he was leaving.

"Aqua... Why did you let him fight you?"

"I'd offered him, hadn't I?"

"But he raised his Keyblade against you! What if anything had happened to you?"

"Do you really have that little faith in me, Terra?"

"No, that's not it..."

Vanitas walked a little faster, getting away from the conversation.

* * *

"I do trust you, Aqua. You know that. But do you really think the Master would have agreed with what you just did?"

"No, I know he wouldn't," Aqua bit her lip. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what has come over me. I didn't expect him to just engage me in battle like that."

"So, why...?"

"It's always been only the two of us and the Master, right, Terra?" Aqua looked up at her taller friend with thoughtful eyes. He returned the look with confusion.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Don't get me wrong, Master Eraqus has been teaching us about Light and Darkness for as long as I can think. But all he's ever shown is the Light," Aqua explained. "I've... never felt confronted with Darkness like this. It is odd. I know what it is, and I know it has no right to exist. We are being trained to drive out the Darkness and protect its balance with the Light, but think about it. If we were to hate that boy... Vanitas for being possessed by it, would that make it any better?"

Terra paused a moment, then replied, "No. You're right. Hatred is still just another form of Darkness."

Aqua nodded, "Exactly. And that's why I feel that, if we're really to become Keyblade Masters one day, it's our duty to bring some Light into this Darkness, isn't it?"

"What if he doesn't want it?" Terra asked. "There's some people in the world that just can't be changed, you know."

"But we can at least try, right?" said Aqua. "After all, he is one of us."

And when Aqua saw that Terra didn't understand what she meant by that least sentence, she summoned her Keyblade and showed it to him.

* * *

Eraqus never learned about the incident that day. Aqua had Terra promise to not tell a word about it. What he _did_ learn about, however, was the fallout that followed; Mornings and afternoons when Vanitas would watch the training Aqua and Terra from afar, and upon being discovered, leave with the most unpleasant of parting gifts. They could be called 'pranks', Aqua supposed, though Terra would have had to vehemently disagree. Once Vanitas cut off a branch of a tree he'd been sitting on and tossed it in-between the sparring parties, startling them in their flow. Another time, he walked past the bench Aqua had left their rations for the day on and knocked over their lunch, spreading it in the tall grass. Yet another time, he stole Terra's wooden Keyblade - a priced possession of his, which he had carved lovingly over months and months of intricate work to be perfect for its purpose - and threw it into the bushes down the hill. Every single time something like that happened, it was in plain sight of Aqua and Terra, as Vanitas made no effort to hide his misdeeds from them, and yet they never saw him laugh about them, not once. Still, even so it wasn't hard to see that the black-haired boy took at least some form of satisfaction from inflicting these minor inconveniences on Eraqus' students. Also, unlike the first time the 'little imp', as Terra had taken to calling him now, had interrupted their training, Terra saw no need to hold back with tattling on him these other times. Eraqus learned about most of them, sooner or later and punishments were given. Most of them only amounted to locking Vanitas up in his room, where he couldn't cause any mischief, however.

"I don't get why the Master's being so lenient with him," Terra ground his teeth during hallway cleaning duty, feeling strongly that _he_ wasn't supposed to be the one completing this task right now.

"I don't _think_ the Master is being lenient with him," replied Aqua, herself also mopping the floor. "It's just hard to force someone to do chores, when they make no use of any privileges you could take away from them."

"He doesn't join our meals, doesn't train with us, doesn't listen to the Master's lectures, doesn't want to see Ventus," Terra growled. "How is locking him in his room even supposed to be a punishment? It feels like that's where he spends half his time anyway."

"Yeah... There is no way the Master really could punish him, even if we wants to," Aqua said. "The reason he is acting the way he is in the first place, is probably because he is already taking so much punishment from his own heart."

"So you're still on that?"

Aqua sighed and continued cleaning.

"There has to be something we can do," she mumbled.

"Like, what?" asked Terra.

"A way to make him come to terms with was happened a little," replied Aqua. "Maybe if he could look at this Darkness and see it for what it is, he'd be able to find the Light within and push the Dark back."

"Great idea," said Terra sarcastically. "And how are you going to make that happen? Switch off all the lights while he's in his room at night?"

"Hm..."

Aqua said nothing about Terra's remark. Incredulous or not, he had a point. If she wanted to change something, she had to take action, and perhaps she knew just how to do that...

* * *

The doors in the castle weren't locked with normal keys. That would have proven unproductive in a place inhabited by Keyblade Bearers such as this one. Instead Eraqus liked to seal the doors using magic. Aqua, being as magically gifted as she was, knew most of the spell-words required to open doors locked shut that way. Of course that meant that almost no door in the castle was ever truly locked before her, but that didn't matter much. Honor Student that she was, it wasn't as if Eraqus would have ever needed to lock _her_ up in her room for anything she'd done. And yet, today Aqua's knowledge would prove useful to her in a way which Eraqus had never intended. She sincerely hoped that her decision was the right one still.

When the door to Vanitas' bland, undecorated room clicked, he knew that his punishment for the day was over. Not that he cared much. After acknowledging the sound, he simply rolled over on his bed, fully intent on continuing his nap. He wouldn't be able to do so. The person opening the door and stepping into his chamber now would make sure of that.

"Excuse me, am I intruding?" asked Aqua.

"Yes," answered Vanitas, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders, signaling 'bed-time'.

Aqua acted as if she hadn't heard that.

"The Master said you may leave your room now," she said. "It is time for the second part of your punishment now."

Vanitas listened up. _'Second part'?_

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Vanitas found himself carrying a pile of clothing and tissues towards the door of another room he knew very well, at least from the outside. It was the room Ventus had been staying in ever since coming her. Vanitas wasn't moving all this cargo of his free will, of course. Aqua had more or less been dragging him around to do her bidding ever since she'd come to his room a quarter hour ago. He would have loved to just ditch her right from the start and escape to where she can't find him, but, much to his chagrin, that blue-haired menace had somehow managed to block off every path he'd tried to take before he even realized she had moved. He suspected that she was using some sort of time manipulation spell to get the better of him, and it annoyed him to no end. As much as he'd have loved to make Aqua leave him alone with force, the memories of the 'training battle' against her a while back were still clear on his mind. 'Predictable' was what she'd called him. She'd laughed, enjoyed herself, as if evading and blocking his strikes were child's play to her. If this was what fighting her was like when she was playing around, then what would an actual fight against her be like? He was afraid to find out. It was honestly the only reason Vanitas hadn't rammed the Void Gear into her back from behind yet.

Briefly Vanitas wondered if, with all the trouble he was causing, Eraqus would ever tire of giving him repetitive, meaningless punishments and just dispose of him for good, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Eraqus still needed him to put Ventus back together, after all. As long as he didn't try to escape this world, Vanitas had nothing to fear of the old man, he was sure.

"There we are!" Aqua singsonged as they arrived in front of Ventus' room.

"Great. Can I go now?" Vanitas said, though he already knew the reply. He also knew that Aqua's overly chipper behavior was doing quite the number on his nerves, and he deeply suspected she was, in fact, doing it on purpose. _'Not trying to hurt him'_. As if. Something just wasn't right with that girl.

"Don't make that face," Aqua said, adding to Vanitas' load the pile of towels and bedsheets as well as the bucket of water she was carrying, in order to open the door. "What is Ventus going to think if he sees you like that?"

"Nothing," replied Vanitas. "He's a zombie. He can barely even tell what's two inches in front of his nose."

"You really haven't been paying attention to what has been happening lately, have you?"

"Hm?"

Vanitas had no idea what Aqua meant by this. Had there been anything he was supposed to pay attention to? Even if so, he wasn't sure it interested him. As far as he could tell from their link, Ventus had yet to feel anything more complex than a desire for cake and hugs, and he had not seen the little half-person outside of his room even once so far. That did not seem like great progress to him... or so he thought. But then Aqua opened the door, and much to Vanitas' surprise, they did not find Ventus motionless in bed. Instead, he was sitting on a chair close to the half-opened window of the room and starring outside, where the sun was setting, with those glassy eyes that were his trademark by now.

"Ventus," Aqua called for him.

Ventus turned his head at the sound of his name, just a little. Not enough to actually look at Aqua, but just enough for one to know that he had heard her. An actual reaction. It was more than Vanitas had excepted. And, ah yes, there it was. One of those many, brief motions of Ventus' heart that had become familiar to him by now. Even if it wasn't reflected on Ventus' empty face, Vanitas could tell that the boy was happy to hear Aqua's voice.

 _'...Happy? Do you even know who she is? Can you even see what she looks like?'_ Vanitas wondered to himself and felt disgust. ' _Pathetic. You sit in here, all day, waiting for voices of total strangers, just so you're not totally alone. That's what it's come to. To think_ _ **you**_ _wanted to be a Keyblade Master once...'_

The memory came to him as easily as if it were his own, even though he felt it belonged to Ventus more than to himself. In his mind he could still see one hand, held up high into the sky, holding a Keyblade tightly clutched. He remembered looking down upon the world where he'd been born, where he'd lived, where his parents raised him and then died, leaving him behind to fend for himself. Where he laughed and cried, day after day. He remembered the feeling of the mountain winds brushing up against Ventus' neck as the boy mustered a wide grin and screamed out into the valley. _'I'm going to travel everywhere! I'm going to see all those worlds and I'll learn how to fight like a real Keyblade Master! I won't disappoint you!'_

A scoff. He was so stupid, back then. Naive. An idiot. A moron. Ventus...

"We brought you fresh clothes and linen for your bed. Would you like to help swapping them out?"

The head turned a little more. Mustering the saddest excuse for a nod Vanitas had ever seen, Ventus replied to Aqua.

"Hm."

"Great," Aqua smiled. "Then I'll take the old bedsheets off while you prepare the new ones, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but when Aqua said this, Ventus slowly began to rise from his chair, unsteady, clumsily, almost as if he needed to remind himself of how to walk before taking any steps. Walking unevenly, he made his way over to Aqua's side, carefully looking around for the items she'd asked him to bring. He found them, in the hands of a person. That confused him. That person wasn't the nice girl with the cake. It also wasn't the tall boy who complained. Or the man who spoke with big words. Instead Ventus found himself in front of someone just as short as himself. Someone with dark outlines. Black, black... A lot of black and grey and a bit of red. Black and grey and red... Black and grey and red... Ventus didn't know what that made him feel. But he grabbed on to the clothing around the nice girl's waist. He didn't dare to take the thing the girl asked him to bring now.

The way Ventus was starring at him, no, looking through him, was deeply unnerving to Vanitas. It wasn't just the fact that Ventus' face looked lifeless, like a mask haphazardly stuck over his real face, with two hard, milky glass marbles for eyes. It was also because this was Ventus, the actual Ventus, right in front of him, _again, after so many days, right there, so close in front of him, but not where he was, not in his place, not him, it should be him, they should be him, they should both be the same, they should not be separate, not like this..._

It was then that Ventus' lips parted. For the first time since they were separated, Vanitas heard a word spoken in Ventus' voice.

"Who...?"

That was all he said. Ventus fell quiet again after that, his eyes still looking through Vanitas' body as if he were air. Aqua, however, had heard what Ventus had said. She looked up from the bedsheets she was pulling off and looked over to the blonde and black-haired boys.

"Hm? Ventus, can't you tell?" she asked, wrinkling her forehead, but quickly smiling again. "Oh well. It's okay if you don't remember. Look."

She put a hand on Ventus' shoulder and pet his hair with the other hand.

"Ventus, that's your brother," Aqua said. "Your twin, Vanitas."

Vanitas just turned his head away at that. Ah, yes. That stupid lie. It'd been so long since he'd last thought of it, he'd almost forgotten about it.

He did not except the blatant untruth to hold Ventus' shallow attention for very long. Given the way the other boy was right now, he'd probably just forget what Aqua had said in a few seconds and stare into nothingness again. At least that's what Vanitas excepted, but instead, something else happened. He could feel it, slowly, almost like a creeping, Ventus' heart was moving. As if the boy was actually thinking about what Aqua had said.

"Brother...?"

Ventus was mouthing the word more than actually voicing it. What came out of his disused throat sounded more like loud breathing than actual speech. Still, was clear what he'd said. And Vanitas could sense the confusion with which he'd said it.

 _'Wait, does he know?'_ Vanitas wondered. _'Does he remember what really happened? What I really am?'_

However, searching Ventus' eyes for recognition, all he found was that empty stare. Two hazy eyes, looking in his general direction.

 _'...Of course he doesn't. Of course_ _ **you**_ _don't remember.'_ Vanitas narrowed his eyes. _'Why would you_ _ **have**_ _to remember, you gross, weak, pathetic excuse for a human being? You're just fine, aren't you? A literal bundle of sunshine. You just can't tell or feel it. No,_ _ **you**_ _don't get to remember what it was like._ _ **You**_ _don't get to feel this pain...! You-'_

But before Vanitas could think anything else to himself, he realized that Ventus' eyes were still on him. _Actually_ on him. Ventus was really looking at him.

 _'What? What are you thinking now?'_ Vanitas wondered. _'Do you actually know I'm here?_

Ventus slowly raised his arm. He stretched out his hand in Vanitas' direction. Vanitas' eyes widened.

 _'Do you want me... to come where you are?'_

Without thinking about what he was doing, Vanitas began to return the gesture.

 _'Do you want me to come back to you...?'_

What was going on? It felt so strange. As if he was getting lighter, losing his weight. It was, as if he could just step right out of his body, this unstable shell, and become something else, something without shape, something that would be able to go to Ventus, to seep into him, melt away into his body, and mix with whatever else was inside, becoming... Ventus? Just Ventus? Nobody else? Just him? As he should be...? Crying when there were reasons to cry? Laughing whenever there weren't?

Ventus' and Vanitas' hands were so close now. So close, they almost touched. Just a bit more, just a little bit closer...

Something snapped. Like a tense thread that'd been cut.

Just moments before their fingers could touch, Ventus hand suddenly jerked away. The blond boy pulled back, his glassy eyes wide, and he stumbled backwards, into Aqua, almost falling to the floor, if it hadn't been for her catching him.

In that moment, Vanitas felt it too. _Terror_. Ventus' mortal fear of whatever was about to happen - would have happened, if they'd come any closer. Even though it'd been only a bit more, just a tiny bit more...

"Ventus!" Aqua bent down to the boy who's own legs weren't carrying him and held him close. "What's wrong! A-Are you okay?"

Ventus was scared. Terrified of Vanitas.

There he was. His other half. Kneeling on the floor, babbling nonsense sounds and shrieking, again and again, warping his arms around his body and curling up, as if he were in the most terrible kind of pain. Wait. Pain? Hah. As if.

 _'You don't know pain,'_ Vanitas clenched his teeth. _'Don't pretend... Don't act as if you know what it's like- !'_

"You miserable, little...!"

Vanitas, who'd been silent ever since he'd entered the room, now took a wide, heavy step towards the boy curled up on the floor in Aqua's arms. He glared down at him with spite, with disgust.

"You think _you're_ hurt? You think _you've_ got the right to lie down and cry for help now!? Don't make me laugh! Look at you, being catered to and pampered like a little baby! Pathetic, weak, not even able to talk on your own. Is this where you wanted to end up? Is this what you wanted to become!? All because of your weakness! Because you couldn't even stand up for yourself when it really mattered!"

Before Aqua had a chance to intervene, Vanitas grabbed onto Ventus' collar, dragging him up and pulling it tighter, as if preparing to strangle him.

"Yes, that's right! This is all _your_ fault! You should have just killed the old bastard when you got the chance! But instead, you let him toss you around! You let him do to you as he pleased, because you're a weak, spineless worm, who doesn't deserve anything! Not the Keyblade, not the worlds, not even to stand up and get out of-!"

" _BIND_!"

He'd been so close to doing it. So close to just closing his hands around Ventus' throat, putting him out of his misery. Both of them. Just ending it for good. But it would not come to that. At the sound of Aqua's voice, Vanitas found himself torn away from Ventus, pinned against the door, unable to move his arms or his legs. He screamed, tried to flail, cursed, demanded to be released so he could finish what he started, but Aqua would hear none of it. All she did was cradle Ventus, who had lost consciousness, in her arms, right before Vanitas' eyes.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

She was crying.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 _Insert Carebears Movie Meme here. You know you want to._

 _This chapter was a challenge to write, because progressing Vanitas from where he starts out to where I need him to be to make the main part of the story work is proving to be a far more complex task than it seemed when I wrote the initial outline for this fic. For example; the battle Aqua VS Vanitas early in this chapter was not originally planned, but I decided it needed to happen in order to help the pace and progression, and to establish a few things. For example, the difference in Vanitas' (and Ventus') current skill-level when compared to the two years older Aqua and Terra. I'm actually afraid that this aspect of the fic is going to screw with quite a few readers' perception of the characters, as this is set a good while before we ever actually met the characters in canon. Not only are the Keyblade Using characters a good bit younger in this than we know them (something I try to reflect in their behavior), they're also lacking many experiences that were formative to their characters as we know them in the games (especially Vanitas). It's an incredibly interesting angle to explore, I just hope most people won't find the difference so jarring that it takes them out of the story._

 _In other news: Toy Story World confirmed. Yes. About time. Too bad I won't get to use it in this fic. I have something else planned, though. Something almost equally nice~_.


	5. Flight

Silence took hold of the castle for the days that followed the incident that had happened in Ventus' chamber. Vanitas did not show his face to the others, and this time it was not for any sort of punishment; The evening after it happened, he returned to his room, smacking the door shut behind him and not leaving for several days after.

Ventus had fallen into sleep again. Neither his caretakers' words, nor their touches would cause him to do as much as move. Just like that, from one moment to the other, all progress they'd made with him in the weeks before, helping him regain his ability to eat by himself, to walk on his own, even just seeing him react to their voices, was all lost again, as if it'd never happened in the first place.

Vanitas' absence and Ventus' sleep weren't the only cause for the castle's silence, of course. Aqua, whom Eraqus and Terra had found crying with the unconscious Ventus in her arms that night, hadn't laughed, not smiled even once ever since that day. She'd go to her daily motions with Terra, eating in the mornings and evenings and training during the days, but her mind always seemed to be somewhere else. She was unfocused, unmotivated, unable to spar with Terra as wholeheartedly as she usually would. He could plainly see how heavily Ventus' fate was weighing on her.

"...The Master said Vanitas is not allowed to see Ventus anymore," Terra slowly told Aqua one day, as they were taking care of their laundry outside the castle walls.

"Hm..." Aqua replied quietly, not even raising her head. Her long ponytail fell over her shoulder, dripping with soapy water from the basin she was using to clean her clothes. Usually she would have taken great care to make sure her hair would not end up caught in the laundry, but today she lacked the sort of concentration needed for that.

"He thinks Vanitas might have had something to do with Ventus collapsing again. Something about him probably sneaking in before you came to make the bed."

"Mhm."

Terra watched his friend quietly struggle to clean her favorite skirt without ripping it. It was quite frankly a painful sight for him. If only he could get her to speak to him.

"...Would you know something about it, Aqua?"

Aqua stopped rubbing the skirt against her washboard. Silently, she gazed into the rippling water of the basin before her.

"He didn't sneak in," she whispered. " _I_ told him to come. I made him..."

"Aqua..." Terra sighed, his tone making it very clear that this was just what he had expected to hear.

"Terra... I don't know whether what happened was his fault or not," Aqua said, her back still turned on her friend. "It happened so fast. They were just looking at each other, almost as if they were going to talk. But then Ventus fell down, I don't know why, and his brother... Vanitas suddenly became violent. It was as if he was _angry_ at Ventus for being sick. I had to restrain him, I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't..."

Terra walked over to Aqua, kneeling down beside her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"You haven't told the Master?" he asked.

"I should have," Aqua sighed. "But I don't know what to tell him. If I say what I just said to you, it is going to look as if I am blaming Vanitas, but without me, he would never even have come to Ventus' room. And I'm sure, Ventus collapsed _before_ Vanitas could have done anything. I saw it. But on the other hand... He _did_ attack Ventus..."

"Isn't that proof enough that it's his fault, though?" Terra said, sounding quite irritated. "Maybe you're misremembering something, because to me, this definitely sounds as if that kid _is_ the one responsible for Ventus collapsing again. He must have done something to him!"

Aqua, however, shook her head, "No, that's not it... Listen, you're right, the way Vanitas has been acting and the fact that he'd just try to harm his own brother like this can't be excused. It's horrible, I didn't imagine I would have to see something like that. But he never even wanted to go see Ventus. It's almost if he knew that something like this was going to happen. I mean, if hurting him was what he had wanted all along, wouldn't he have gone to see him on his own long ago?"

"If hurting him _wasn't_ what he wanted, he wouldn't have attacked him out of the blue, when Ventus was on the floor and defenseless!" Terra argued.

"But why did Ventus even collapse? Vanitas hadn't even spoken a single word to him yet. I don't understand..." Aqua held her left hand to her forehead. "There's also something else. Something I'm not sure I could even ask the Master about."

"What is that?"

Aqua raised her head a little, looking at Terra.

"Vanitas... When he attacked Ventus, he was saying something. He was yelling about somebody having done terrible things to Ventus. Terra, whatever it was that hurt the two of them like that, I think _their_ _Master_ was the one who did it to them." She looked into Terra's eyes, as if asking for help with understanding the things she was telling him. "It wasn't an accident. The way Vanitas said it, it sounded as if the person he spoke about... Their previous Master had been hurting Ventus on purpose!"

At first, Terra looked as if he wanted to object to what Aqua was saying, but then something seemed to occur to him, "Wait, then... Is that why Master Eraqus left so suddenly to get them without telling us anything? Because he needed to get them away from their old Master?"

Aqua nodded a little, "I think so..."

"Then why didn't he tell us about it?"

Aqua shook her head, "I don't know... But maybe the Master just doesn't want us to know."

"And that's why you can't ask him?"

Terra furrowed a brow. In all honesty, he felt suspicious about what Aqua was telling him. Personally he found that the little imp was the last person whose words he'd trust when it came to an issue as sensitive as this one. What was fact right now, however, was the way this all was affecting Aqua. To say he was unhappy about it would have been a gross understatement.

"Look, let's assume, and I mean just assume, you understood what that imp was saying right _and_ he actually meant it, too. If so, then why would he be letting it out on Ventus? Shouldn't their old Master be the one he's angry at?"

Aqua stayed silent.

"Honestly, it doesn't sound like he was telling the truth to me, Aqua. He was probably just searching for excuses for his own actions."

"Even if...!" Aqua closed her eyes and shuddered. "He would never even have gone to see Ventus if it hadn't been for me! I'm the one who made him see him, Terra!"

"This is _not_ your fault!" Terra insisted.

"It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't meddled! If I'd just listened to you and hadn't acted on my own, trying to change a person I really knew nothing about, he would never have..."

"It wouldn't have happened if _that kid_ hadn't gone and attacked his own brother for no good reason! You had nothing to do with it, Aqua!... Argh!" Terra ground his teeth, struggling and failing to not yell in Aqua's face. "Just look at this mess! Not only does he go hurting Ventus, but you too? You, who's never done anything but tried to be good to him! I am _not_ going to stand for this!"

An angry Terra pushed himself up from the ground, turned and stomped away.

"Terra, where are you going?" Aqua called.

"I...I'm going to take a walk," grumbled Terra. "I need to cool my head."

"But, the laundry..."

"I'll be right back," Terra assured Aqua, before leaving the castle grounds and wandering off to the nearby meadows on his own. Aqua followed him with her eyes, wondering about what her friend was going to do next. ' _He won't stand for this_ ', Terra had said, and if Aqua knew one thing about him, it was that if Terra made statements like these, he definitely meant them. No amount of 'head-cooling' in the world could ever change Terra's mind once he'd made it up like this. Fully aware of that fact, Aqua gnawed her lip.

"Just what have I started...?"

Even if she had decided that she would not try to meddle any longer, Aqua thought that it might be good to keep a close eye on Terra as well as Vanitas now. She didn't want the consequences of her rash actions to cause even more trouble than they already had.

* * *

This room wasn't just bland. It was downright barren. The walls, closet, shelves and table were empty and free of all decoration. It hadn't always been like that. The day Vanitas arrived here, there had been trinkets on the shelves and odd little figurines in the closet display, along with someone's leftover clothes, and someone's memos from long ago were strewn all over the table. He'd thrown it all out. No matter what it was, sooner or later anything Vanitas looked at would end up irritating him. The colors of the gemstones on the trinkets. The expressions on the faces of the china figurines. The sheen of another person's clothes, or even just their handwriting, their way of expressing their own notes and plans. It all seemed to be taunting him, whispering annoying words in his ear and telling him, over and over, how much better he'd be off without this place and this place without him. There was no logical rhyme or reason to it. It was just the way he felt, the way he perceived the world around him every time he opened his eyes. Not that being asleep would have been much better.

He'd been in bed for days now, idly listening to his own breath and staring at the wall beside him, waiting for one of those moments that Ventus' heart would pass on a piece of its pleasant emotions to him, granting him a minute of repose. But nothing happened. Ventus' heart had fallen into a dreamless sleep once more, leaving Vanitas with nothing but his own feelings to mull over. He was tired. Tired of waiting, tired of his own thoughts, tired of remembering how close he'd been to escaping this long nightmare once and for all, one way or another.

 _'Why'd you reject me? Do you loathe me that much?'_ he wondered to himself. _'And why do you continue to live? In that state you're in... Hah, well. I still would trade with you in a heartbeat if I could.'_

Vanitas bitterly laughed to himself.

 _'I wish we would both just die...'_

Long ago, when he'd been little, Ventus had loved to 'fly'. It wasn't actual flight; all the boy would do was to stretch out his arms left and right from his body and run down a slope, faster and faster, until it didn't feel as if his feet were touching the ground anymore. He would feel the wind in his face and his hair as he ran, and he'd laugh all the while without stopping, until he would run out of breath. Vanitas could remember all of it, clear as day, every step, every motion, even the feeling of the moist grass under Ventus' bare feet. But he didn't know what it felt like to fly. Not because he'd forgotten. It was more as if he'd never known in the first place. Though he could recall Ventus' laughter clearly, he didn't know what it meant, or what the sensation had been like. To Vanitas, the memory of flying, that feeling that had made Ventus aspire to go and fly to other worlds, just like the seed of a dandelion, was hollow and meaningless, even though somewhere in his heart, he knew that there should have been more to it...

It had been weeks, and yet Eraqus hadn't said anything else about his claims that he would find a way to restore Vanitas to Ventus' heart ever since they'd first come here. Had those just been empty words after all, something he told Vanitas in order to bind and control him with false hope? If so, then what was Vanitas still doing here? Other than Ventus, there was nothing here that had any meaning to him whatsoever. Still, the same would be true for anywhere else he could go, he supposed. It wasn't as if he had any sort of home he could or would want to return to. No matter where he went, it would all stay the same. He could not run away from himself, could he?

It was in the afternoon, he didn't know what day. As the castle clock struck four, the sun hit the window from a rather peculiar angle, too sharp for the curtains to cover it up completely. A ray of light hit Vanitas' face, waking him from the daze he was in.

"Ungh... what...?"

The boy tried to open his eyes, but the moment he did, the warm sunlight hit them, blinding him. He flinched away and closed them shut again.

"Argh-! Damn it..."

Vanitas had spent such a long time in bed, covered by the shade of his curtains, that the afternoon sun hitting his field of vision as suddenly as this had been entirely unexpected to him. Now his head hurt. Vanitas tried to turn around, so he would not be facing the window any longer, but the polished marble tiles of the floor reflected the sunlight that came through almost like a brilliant mirror. Trying to escape the light, the boy restlessly spun, lying his head down where his feet had been before and vice versa, but doing so, he hit his head on the footboard. He sat up and held his head in his hands, groaning.

"I need to get out of here..." he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Sometimes Terra didn't understand Aqua.

For how long had he known her now? Seven, eight years, give or take? Ever since the day Master Eraqus showed up in the door with a little girl by his hand, the two of them had always been together, training, learning, living. They didn't always agree on things, in fact there were many times when Terra felt that Aqua could be something of a know-it-all, but that didn't change that the two of them knew each other very well, as best friends should. In fact, Terra knew Aqua so well that from time to time he could find training with her downright boring. In battle she almost never managed to surprise him anymore, just like how he had trouble surprising her these days. When it came to life outside of battles, however, things were different. On some days, Aqua's thought-processes just seemed to be like an unsolvable mystery to Terra, a puzzle that just always seemed to be missing pieces.

When it came to Ventus and Vanitas, Terra knew exactly what he thought of them. Ventus was someone who needed their help, someone to be protected and aided until he'd be able to stand on his own two feet again. There was no doubt on Terra's mind that that poor, wounded boy was deserving of their best efforts in aiding his recovery. Vanitas, however, was a different case entirely. Rude, self-centered, anti-social, violent, unwilling to maintain even the simplest of conversations for longer than two sentences. The exact kind of person you wouldn't want to be stuck in a room with if it was avoidable. Just why had the Master even brought that boy here? Had he really seen some kind of potential in him? Terra found that hard to believe. If it had been for Ventus' sake somehow, Terra would have understood, but even that seemed unlikely, given what he had just learned. Was it really wise to keep someone that unstable so close to someone as fragile as Ventus? Terra really didn't want to question his Master's decisions, but he just had to wonder.

Aqua definitely shared Terra's opinion and feelings about Ventus, he knew that much. But on the point of Vanitas it seemed that they differed, and Terra just couldn't see why that was. That boy had insulted her, attacked her and even driven her to tears. He'd made Aqua doubt herself. Aqua, who usually always seemed to be so sure of what she was doing, as if she always were in full control. Why was it that she still felt as if there was anything other than malice to him? Because she felt it was their duty to bring Light into that Darkness? Did someone who would attack a defenseless boy like Ventus even deserve that much?

Terra's hands, submerged in the small river outside the castle premises, curled to fists. It didn't matter how many times he splashed his face with water, he just couldn't seem to calm down. Someone had hurt Aqua, his friend. Cool, powerful, smart, tenacious Aqua. How could he possible relax, knowing somebody who would do that to her was allowed to share the same roof as them?

A rustling in the trees a little down the river drew Terra's attention.

Wait, 'rustling'? No, it was more than that. Terra stopped kneeling by the river bench and got up on his feet. It almost sounded as if somebody was chopping wood down there...

* * *

Since he really didn't feel like running into Eraqus or one of his charges, he'd left the room through the window. It was quite ideal, actually. Nobody was going to realize he was gone, meaning nobody would come to look for him either. He'd be left alone to do whatever. Right now, said 'whatever' consisted mostly of him trying to let off some of the steam he'd accumulated doing nothing those past weeks.

Vanitas had leaped off the castle roof and over the walls, walked into the forest, found this river. Here, he'd splashed his head with water, in hopes of getting rid of the headache the aggressively bright afternoon sun was giving him. When that didn't help, he had punched his own reflection in the water in his frustration. Then, he had punched the ground. Finally, he transitioned to summoning the Void Gear and letting out his irritation on the trees instead.

Clank, clank, clank. With every strike, the old, sturdy stem of the oak bent a little more. It was a big oak with a broad trunk. From the looks of it, it might have been standing here for a hundred years already, if not longer. But now this was going to end. The oak was dying. He was killing it. Little by little, strike by strike, he was destroying what many seasons passing one after another hadn't managed to take away. Perhaps this was what he was meant to do. Destruction for no reason but his own satisfaction. He was a being of Darkness after all. Maybe this was one way he could bring destruction and hurt without being hurt himself.

But with every blow that connected Vanitas found it felt a little less satisfying to cut into the wood. When he had killed the Unversed, back when he'd first been created, Vanitas had felt their pain as his own. A pain he'd inflicted on himself, one he definitely never wanted to feel again. And yet, striking down those creatures born from him still had provided Vanitas with a certain sense of achievement. Maybe it was because of how they had squirmed and wiggled under his blade before they faded and disappeared. Maybe it was the way they shrieked and screamed when being cut in half. It might even have been the pain he felt itself, which had made Vanitas feel so 'content' when he destroyed them. The oak, however, didn't squirm. It didn't shriek or scream, and it probably felt no pain either. It was just a tree. It didn't understand what was happening to it, didn't even know the terror of dying.

More and more, he realized that killing the oak wouldn't satisfy him. The thought mortified him. What was he even doing here...?

Vanitas shook his head and hit faster and harder. Power. If he used more power, grew stronger, he would feel less weak! The stronger he got, the less he'd have to fear. The more power he gathered, the more he'd be able to destroy. Maybe then he'd feel as if he was making a difference. His thoughts went in circles that didn't make sense. They didn't need to. He just needed to distract himself from feeling, from think about or perceiving himself or what was around him. That was why he didn't notice the sound of approaching footsteps right away. It was only when somebody was standing close enough for him to spy them from the corner of his eyes, that Vanitas became alert and turned around. Seeing that the older of Eraqus' students, Terra, was watching him from the river bench, the black-haired boy froze up.

"...What are _you_ doing here?" Vanitas hissed, brandishing his Keyblade in the other boy's general direction. _'I thought I'd get some quiet down here... tch...'_

Terra didn't respond to Vanitas' question or threat immediately. Instead, his eyes locked onto the other's weapon, then onto the brutalized tree behind him. Only then he focused on Vanitas' face.

"Say. Is that the first thing you do when you see anything? Trying to break it?" Terra asked loudly.

"So? What are you gonna do about it? Tell me that I was a bad boy and shouldn't do it again?"

Even more than usually, Vanitas was not in the mood to be lectured on life by one of Eraqus' goody-two-shoes.

"If it were only that poor oak, it would be one thing. But you treat people just the same, don't you?" Terra narrowed his eyes. "I heard about what you did to Ventus."

"Aww, so the old man's little girl tattled on me. Boo-Hoo. I feel so bad now."

That wasn't a complete lie. Vanitas _did_ feel regret. About allowing himself to participate in this conversation, that is. Swinging his Keyblade over his shoulder, Vanitas turned his back on Terra, and began to walk away.

"Hold it!" yelled Terra, and he charged towards Vanitas. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Oh yeah? Too bad, because I've got nothing to say to _you!_ "

Before Terra could lunge to grab on to Vanitas' wrist, the younger boy had turned and whirled, tearing his Keyblade through the air as he did. The tip of the weapon barely missed the nose of Terra, who noticed the incoming attack and managed to dodge out of the way just in time. With a firm step back, the older Keyblade Wielder found a stable grip on the ground, summoning his own weapon as soon as he could.

"Hah. So you want a fight? Well, you can have that!"

Vanitas gnashed his teeth, "What I want is for you to _leave me alone_!"

Their Keys were brandished, their stances taken. Neither of them needed to wait for any further special clues. Without restraints, Terra and Vanitas rushed at each other, Keyblades raised above their heads.

Being fast as he was, Vanitas was the first to strike. His swing was quickly blocked by Terra, who countered by turning the force of Vanitas' blow against him, pulling his Keyblade up rapidly. Recoil knocked Vanitas off his balance, giving Terra and opening to attack. An attempt of Vanitas to slide out of the way failed. The blow connected to his shoulder, making him feel the brunt of Terra's physical strength.

 _'It hurts-! Damn it-!'_

This wasn't the same pain Vanitas back when he killed Unversed. This was a pain somebody else had inflicted on him. A wound. He'd never felt something quite like this before. It was similar, but the quality was different. Like a spark, kindling the embers of anger within him into a vengeful fire. He was _not_ going to be this guy's punching bag!

With a loud yell, Vanitas leaped up in the air, trying to attack his opponent from above. This time, Terra took a moment longer to read his moves. He dashed out of the way of Vanitas' attack, keeping his eyes on the boy as he did and preparing to launch a counter-strike as soon as the other would touch the ground again. Vanitas' eyes were wide open when he realized that his Keyblade had connected to grass and dirt rather than to Terra's flesh. The surprise was almost enough to make him miss it when the older boy came lunging towards him with his Keyblade held in both hands, but not quite. Vanitas dodged. He'd have loved to counter instead, but he didn't dare. Terra's raw power was immense. In order to turn that sort of strength against his opponent without taking recoil, he would have needed to predict the exact moment the blow would connect, and he couldn't. He was too focused on trying to find his next opening. Once Terra's failed lunge-attack had passed, Vanitas leaped at him, roaring loudly. He slashed, slashed, slashed, one strike after another. If he just swung rapidly enough, he thought, his opponent's defenses ought to break sooner or later. However, Terra had shielded himself with his Keyblade at the first sign of danger and was now blocking every single one of Vanitas' strikes, showing no signs of fatigue.

Like trying to slash a large boulder to pieces. That's how this felt to Vanitas. He was fighting a boulder. An annoying, huge rock, that just wouldn't budge, blocking his path. Terra's style of battle was nothing like that of the Aqua-girl. He was slow, heavy-hitting, and didn't move around nearly as much as she had. And still, this battle was turning out just the same as that last one had. No matter what Vanitas was doing, no matter what he tried, all of his strikes were either getting blocked, countered or dodged by Terra. It was getting to be infuriating. He tried hitting faster, stronger, angrier, but he just couldn't seem to get in a single, solitary, measly...

 _'Calm down.'_

...What was this?

A memory? What was he remembering? Something that Ventus had learned during training, perhaps? No, wait.

Vanitas soon realized that this voice floating in his head didn't come from Ventus' memories. It was one of his own...

' _I know that it's tempting to just rush in and use all your power at once. After all, everyone wants to show what they can do, right? That's just natural.'_

Aqua's voice. He was thinking of what that girl had told him when she battled him. When she played with him, as if it were nothing. Why was he remembering this now? Did his mind _want_ to make him relive the humiliation of that battle so vividly?

 _'It's making you predictable.'_

 _'Well, if the way I'm fighting_ _ **is**_ _so predictable,'_ an irritated Vanitas asked the memory in his head. _'Then what am I supposed to do? Throw out everything I know and just wing it?'_

Much to his surprise, the memory had an answer for him.

 _'If you want to control the tide of battle, you need to control yourself first.'_

 _'How do I do that?'_

Vanitas couldn't believe he was thinking these thoughts. Was he actually taking advice from his memories now? Even worse, a memory of Aqua?

 _'Make yourself not be predictable.'_

She'd never said that. He knew she hadn't, but still, he felt as if he could hear those words spoken in her voice. As if it was real.

Something clicked in Vanitas' mind that moment.

That guy... Terra being able to block and evade Vanitas' attacks like this was not a feat of speed. He was able to do it, because he could _guess_ what Vanitas was going to do next. So if Vanitas just took steps and did things that Terra _wouldn't_ be able to guess ahead of time...

Mid-strike, Vanitas sidestepped. With no warning, no apparent reason to. No incentive. Terra, who was still bracing himself for the next incoming blow, watched as the boy before him suddenly blurred like a speeding vehicle, then disappeared from his field of vision. For a moment he was stumped.

"Wha-"

" _Gotcha._ "

The blow came from behind. Right in Terra's blind spot. It wasn't especially power- or forceful, but it was quick. Too quick for Terra to reorient himself and block. Too sudden even for him to dash out of the way. For the first time this battle had begun, Vanitas' blade had connected to Terra.

 _'I... did it...!'_

What was this feeling? Satisfying and relieving. Unlike the Unversed, Terra wasn't squirming, or screaming, or shrieking, but the blow _did_ have an effect on him. It'd surprised him, made him stumble and lose orientation. To Vanitas it felt as if, if he only used the chance he had now, he would be able to get in more and more hits! Somehow that thought was... exciting.

Terra was still trying to get his bearings again. What kind of maneuver was that just now? Aqua had never broken his defense like that. She usually just back-stepped and fired of an elemental spell at him as he was trying to... Wait. He wasn't fighting Aqua. He couldn't rely on his opponent acting like she would, so why did he feel so inclined to? The truth was obvious once Terra thought about it a little...

 _'The Master has been teaching us, but he's far above our level. So when it came to training battles, my opponent has always been her. I've never had a proper battle with anyone from outside this world before! I... I don't know how to fight anyone other than Aqua!'_

The realization left Terra dumbstruck, unable to react properly to was happening around him. It was just the chance Vanitas needed to continue his assault. He propelled himself off the trunk of a nearby tree, then dove towards Terra's back, trying to remain in the older boy's blind spot. With swift movements, he launched a series of slashes against the other. One, two, three, four, five, and a finish! The impact of the sixth strike was hard enough to even knock the steadfast Terra off his balance. The older boy fell to the ground, groaning as he hit it. Vanitas smirked. He was doing it! He was actually winning!

"So? Are you sorry for picking a fight with me yet?" he taunted Terra, preparing for another strike.

"Gh! You are the one who is going to feel sorry here! _Argh_!"

Terra had found his balance again, Before Vanitas' next strike could connect, he raised his own blade, striking back. The two Keyblades clashed and locked, for just a moment, before Vanitas pulled out, unexpectedly leaping over Terra's head. Terra spun, bracing himself for the next blow, while internally planning out what his own next move would be. Oh boy. How long had it been since he last had to do this? Actually _thinking_ about what his opponent might be doing next, rather than relying on intuition? Somehow, it made Terra feel downright... excited.

Terra had managed to divert Vanitas' last attack, but the younger boy did not let that throw him off his flow. He'd managed to create an opening before, and he could do it again! All he needed to do was keep moving outside of the other's expectations. Piece of cake! -Wait, strike that. No cake. He didn't need the nausea right now. Anyway...

"Take this!"

A jump, a dash up into the branches of a nearby tree. Then, he kicked off it. Vanitas cut through the air, rushing at Terra from above with enough speed to transform into a formless blur before the latter's eyes. Terra didn't quite manage to position himself in time to block this one. The attack went through. As soon as he'd dealt with the knock-back, Terra clenched his teeth and dashed out of Vanitas' way in order to avoid follow-up attacks. Then he threw his Earthshaker Keyblade at Vanitas like a boomerang. With a dump thud the weapon hit the younger boy in the chest before returning to its Master. Now both recovering from recently taken damage, Vanitas and Terra both found themselves taking a moment to groan before they kicked off the soil again, resuming the battle.

It was weird. Even though Terra regularly managed to make his blows connect to Vanitas, and, in fact, his hit accuracy even seemed to have improved ever since the balance of the battle had shifted, Vanitas found that he was having a much easier time just shrugging off the older boy's hits now then he had before. It might have had to do with the adrenaline rushing through him (if 'adrenaline' was something a being such as him could even have.) Vanitas just felt too excited about the rush of combat to care about the scratches and dents Terra was putting on him. He was in too much of a rush to stop to think about setbacks, too thrilled about his next chance to strike to focus on how angry he was. It was about five minutes into the battle that Vanitas realized that, though the whole reason he had started this battle had been to get away from the older boy, he now no longer saw Terra as an obstacle, something undesirable to be disposes from his sight. His initial motivations for this fight had just faded into the background, vanishing from his priorities. He didn't want Terra to leave or to just keel over anymore. He wanted him to keep fighting against him at 100%! Every time Vanitas managed to break the older boy's iron defenses, he felt a wave of pride wash over him. He felt anticipation when he managed to take him off-guard and accomplishment for every hit that connected. He wanted to see how many more hits he could get in! He wanted to continue trying new moves, fighting on and on! He didn't want this battle to end. He wanted to keep going! This was nothing like fighting the Unversed, not at all. He was feeling accomplishment and satisfactions, yes. But he wasn't being hurt. He didn't even have the time to as much as consider _being_ hurt. For the first time ever, Vanitas wasn't feeling pain.

As the pace of the battle became faster and faster, Terra began to have trouble keeping up. For some reason, however, he found that he didn't mind too much. Much to the contrary, he was surprised by how satisfying it was to be kept on his toes like that. It was unexpected, but exciting, a challenge like he hadn't had it in a long time. For so long, Terra's sparring sessions had consisted primarily of blocking tricky, elegant maneuvers and escaping elemental spells fired his way. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to focus mainly on evading physical blows in an actual combat situation. Calling up memories on lessons his Master had taught him long ago, which had ended up falling into disuse in a dusty corner of his mind, Terra adapted more and more to the battle style of his opponent and his opponent to his. It was interesting, it was thrilling, he felt as if he was actually learning something. This must have been one of his best sparring sessions in years! ...Wait, 'sparring'? Was that what this was? He could have sworn there was another reason for this battle. Right. Now he remembered. The Keyblade Wielder he was fighting was Vanitas. The selfish, cruel boy who had no qualms with hurting his own family. The same one who had made Aqua cry. Terra was fighting Vanitas, because he was trying to teach him a lesson. Wasn't he supposed to still be furious with this kid, serious about making him understand his misdeeds? Why was Terra enjoying this battle as much as he did? One shake of his head and deep breath later, Terra realized that he would just have to face the facts: That kid... Vanitas was just a _very_ good sparring partner.

"You know what? Aqua was right," Terra said, while defending from a chain of attacks. "Your technique actually _is_ pretty great! You've really got a way with that Keyblade of yours."

"Keep your compliments to yourself and fight!" Vanitas yelled loudly at Terra, who was right in front of him.

"They're not compliments! I mean it. You're good at this!"

"Whatever!"

Praise. Vanitas understood the concept in theory. Comprehending it in practice, however, was another story entirely. At first, his mind was taking Terra's sudden quips about Vanitas skill to be an insult of some kind. Maybe the older boy was taunting him, making fun of his way of fighting in much the same way that girl had. But, wait. Had she actually been making fun of him? The advice she'd given him had actually helped him out, once he'd put it into practice. Did that mean that Aqua had actually been sincere about what she'd said to him? Was Terra being sincere right now as well? The more Vanitas thought about it, the more he realized that it couldn't be anything else. He was currently holding his own against Terra, at times even had the upper hand. There was nothing to taunt him about. So was Terra being just as honest as Aqua had been? Did the two of them actually think that what he was doing in battle was actually... ' _good_ '?

What was going on? Nothing seemed to be making sense. Vanitas felt dizzy. As if his own thoughts were too much for his mind to handle, and yet, there was also this distant hint of 'warmth' somewhere amid the confusion.

...He had no time to think about this. The fight was still going on. If he let off the slightest bit, he would be defeated, unable to continue, and then the battle would end, just like that. He wasn't ready to let that happen. He wanted this to go on, as long as it could go, wanted to remain like this, feeling this rush, the excitement, the heat. Sooner or later, Terra or him would tire and fall, and he dreaded that moment, but until then, he wanted to make this last however he could, feeling the wind in his face and his hair as he rushed through the air, and he'd strike on and one without stopping, until he would run out of breath- It was then that Vanitas realized that he knew this feeling. It was so familiar. As if he'd felt it before a long, long time ago.

Was this what 'flying' had felt like?

As much as Terra was focusing on the battle, he found it hard to keep his attention on his opponent's moves, rather than his face. It was difficult to explain, but ever since the battle had really got going, something about Vanitas seemed different, and it wasn't just the way he fought and kept Terra busy with the challenge of reading his moves. At first, it'd only been little things, such as a smirk on the younger boy's face and a shining in his eyes that Terra could swear hadn't been there before, but then it became more and more obvious. Vanitas moves became more playful and tricky, and the boy's face seemed to show a lot more variety in expression than it usually did. Finally, Terra heard something that took him by surprise so much, he thought that he must be imagining it at first: Vanitas was laughing. Mischievously, playfully, with a hint of Schadenfreude. It was the laughter of a twelve years old child who was enjoying himself to the fullest. And as baffled as Terra was to hear that laughter, he would have been lying if he claimed he couldn't understand it. He felt the same. This battle was just too much fun.

The fight continued, the combatants dashing past the trees, kicking up dust, occasionally splashing up the water of the river as they passed it. They were so focused on what they were doing that neither of them had noticed yet that they hadn't been alone for quite a while now.

From the other side of the river, Aqua was watching the fight. It had been the noises of combat that had led her to this place when she wandered outside the castle walls in search of Terra, and here he was, smiling brightly with every successful maneuver he managed. When Aqua had first arrived here and seen the fighting between her friend and Vanitas, she'd first wanted to intervene, to go between the two of them and, if necessary, restrain Vanitas before he could do any harm to Terra, but now she could plainly see that that wouldn't be necessary. Both fighting parties just kept smiling and laughing as the battle drew closer and closer to a conclusion. And so Aqua, too, smiled.

No matter how this battle ended, she could tell that there would only be winners.

They had been going for quite a while now and, much to his chagrin, Vanitas realized that he was beginning to feel exhausted.

 _'Not yet... I can still keep going... I still want to keep going...'_

However, even if he did manage to squeeze enough energy out of his body to keep on fighting, he knew that at this rate, Terra would eventually overpower him. A humiliating defeat by the hands of the older wielder, in spite of all he'd already accomplished in this battle. No, that was definitely not how he wanted this to end. But Terra was tenacious. If he didn't want to be outlasted by him, Vanitas would have to exhaust him quickly, enough to bring him down to his own level. And he knew just how to do it.

 _'Just one last, unexpected maneuver out of left field... One that will leave him not knowing what hit him...'_

The difference in Eraqus' and Xehanort's ways of training teaching their students were just as great as those in their personal philosophies, and so Ventus had received some skills that neither Aqua nor Terra probably had any experience with yet. For example, he'd been taught to wield the Keyblade in two vastly different styles; forehanded and backhanded. Sure, the backhanded style was somewhat ineffective in most combat situations, but what better way to catch an opponent off-guard, than to switch between the two?

Vanitas prepared himself as he was rushing towards Terra. He gave his Keyblade a slight jog, spun it in his hand to reverse the grip... and then...

 _'Wait. How do you... do this again...?'_

He couldn't recall what to do next. He was drawing a blank.

There was an impact. The blunt end of an oversized key hit Vanitas in the stomach. He was knocked off his feet. Falling back, he felt his already unstable grip on his Keyblade slipping. The Void Gear fell out of his hand and disappeared as Vanitas himself hit the ground.

When he looked up Terra was standing there, grinning. The tall boy's Earthshaker was pointed at Vanitas' nose.

"Good battle," Terra said with a congratulatory smile. He extended a hand down to Vanitas. "Alright. Now that that's done with, how about we have a little talk, you and I?"

Vanitas looked at Terra's outstretched hand for a few moments, before slapping it out of his face. The black-haired boy tried to get back on his feet.

"No... This isn't over yet!" he claimed. "One more time! I can still fight! I can still...!"

"You're both exhausted," a voice called from a little further away. "Don't you think it would be better to take a bit of a break? Just for a little while?"

Terra turned his head, "Aqua?"

The girl in blue was approaching the two boys with a kind smile, clapping her hands.

"Both of you were great! I really had no idea who was going to win, right until the end. Hm, actually... When was the last time you had to move around like that in a battle, Terra?"

"You know, I actually don't remember," Terra laughed. "I usually try to stay in one place if I can. But you also don't zip around the battlefield nearly as much as this kid does, Aqua."

Aqua smiled, "It's pretty hard to follow with your eyes alone, isn't it? I had a bit of trouble with that myself when I sparred with him."

Terra and Aqua kept talking, discussing Vanitas' battle style to each other with excitement on their faces, but the one they were talking about was unable to take in any of it. He couldn't listen to what they were saying, didn't even want to, because, despite of how shaky he was on his legs right now, he could only focus on how _that feeling was fading, it was disappearing, going away, he didn't want it to go-_

"Argh!" With a loud groan, Vanitas pushed himself in-between Terra and Aqua, interrupting their conversation. He faced the girl.

"Y-You!" he hissed at her. "Fight me! I want to battle you right now!"

"Huh?" Aqua took a step back. "What..? Wouldn't you rather take a break? I mean, you only just fought Terra... And you look tir-"

"Shuddup! I don't need a break! I need you to fight me!"

The longer Aqua looked at Vanitas' fierce eyes, the less she felt like she understood. The boy looked exhausted, barely able to stand on his feet. Why has he so eager to continue sparring still? If they fought now, she'd definitely overpower him, even if she held back.

"What is it? Are you scared of me?"

Scared? Maybe. But 'of' him? Less so. If anything, Aqua was scared of what would happen if she took the boy up on his challenge. But could she actually refuse it? The way he was focusing her was unnerving, do intense, and yet downright desperate. A little like a starved wolf-cub, trying to corner the last remaining rabbit in the forest. What was the correct reaction to a look like that? While Aqua was still considering it, Terra walked up to Vanitas from behind... and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Ungh-ah...? What...?"

The sudden assault on his black spikes startled Vanitas. He raised his hands up, clumsily trying to swat away the foreign object on his head, but all that got him was soft laughter from both, Aqua and Terra.

"Really, no break? C'mon, what's the rush for, kid?" Terra asked. "You can have your rematch anytime you want, if you just ask, you know. It's not like we're going anywhere any time soon."

Just like how the sound of Aqua and Terra laughing had aggravated Vanitas, almost making him draw his Keyblade again and striking again, the words Terra said made him stop in his tracks of doing just that.

"You'll... fight me again...?" he asked. "...Whenever I want?"

As long as they were just here... As long as they were alive, he'd be able to do this again. The thought sunk into his mind, like a pebble into a pond, leaving ripples on the otherwise still surface.

"Sure," Aqua said. "I mean, that's what we all here for, right? We're all training to become Keyblade Masters. It's a dream we share."

"I don't know anything about dreams." Vanitas replied, only to then immediately wonder why that thought had slipped from him. He shook his head, bit his lip. "I just... want to fight you again. Him. Or her. I don't care. Just, anyone!"

"Is it because you miss Ventus?" Aqua asked, after pausing for a moment.

Vanitas froze up. Ventus? Why was she bringing him up now? What did he have to do with any of this, Vanitas asked himself for a moment, before remembering that everything, _of course_ , had to with Ventus. All of this was his fault after all. Even Vanitas forgetting all about the feeling of flying until just now was probably, somehow, because of Ventus.

But now he knew again. Now, that memory was complete. Even if there was no chance of ever going back to Ventus, ever becoming one with him again, if now only he could hang on to that one feeling, then maybe...

"Say... Do you really hate him?"

Aqua's voice. Again. Why was it always that girl's voice, cutting into his thoughts?

What kind of question was this even supposed to be? She saw what happened back in Ventus' chamber, wasn't it? Shouldn't it be clear as day to her? _Of course_ he hated Ventus! Of course, because it was all his fault, all because of his weakness, his fears, pathetic failure to stand up and fight-

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry. But I just can't make sense of it. You hurt him, but when you spoke to him it also sounded... As if you were _sad_ because of what had been done to him."

Was she still talking? Why? What was the point in that? She saw everything, didn't she? If she already knew, then why did she need to ask!? _Of course_ he was sad because of what happened! Of course he hated being here, existing like this, when he wasn't supposed to be, when all of this was wrong, and nothing would ever be right again! Nothing, except that feeling of flying...

"I just can't help but wonder, did you really mean to harm him? Is that really what you wanted?"

"I... I..."

Vanitas was shaking his head again. Like trying to shake off her voice, even though he knew it wouldn't work. Why wouldn't she shut up? What should he do? Push them over, run away? But he felt so tired, so scared of losing the last lingering embers of that feeling, too exhausted and frantic to think-

"I... don't know!" He yelled. "I don't know what I want! ...No, I _do_ know! I want to fight! _Just let me fight, I beg on you! Please!_ "

Aqua and Terra would never have claimed they understood what was going on inside the black-haired boy's heart. Only one thing became clear to them that afternoon: Whatever it was that was ailing this heart, it must have been surely chaotic and unpredictable, so much so that even Vanitas himself did not seem to understand its meaning. However, chaos could be ordered. Darkness could be illuminated. Pain could be healed.

It was the moment that the boy was on the floor before them, kneeling and crying, begging them to do battle with him, that not only Aqua, but also Terra decided, that they would need to tend to Vanitas and help him heal just as much as they had to do it for Ventus, if truly wanted to undo the damage of whatever had happened the night before the two boys first came to their world.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _This is the part where I can stop writing Vanitas as the ultimate mental wreck and edgelord that he was in the novels. Finally. From now on things should be getting considerably less dark and angsty for a while, so look forward to that._

 _Before you ask what this is about Aqua having a "ponytail" early in the chapter, remember that this is set a couple of years before Birth by Sleep, and while BbS proper used the same models for Aqua and Terra in the flashbacks as in the actual game, I'm pretty sure the two of them much have matured physically quite a bit during their late teen years, so I like to imagine Aqua actually had longer hair at the time, or that Terra's physique was closer to that of KH2 Riku._

 _I also feel the need to reiterate at this point that my goal with this fic is definitely not to redeem the Vanitas we saw in canon. That ship has sailed and sunk the moment the guy stepped on screen in Birth by Sleep. All I'm trying to do is explore how the character could have turned out differently if it hadn't been for Xehanort's influence. With all the lore the games have added ever since the first game, such as "Darkness" only equaling the chaotic and unknown Yin, rather than outright "evil" (examples: Riku and the Spirit Dream Eaters), and the fact that hearts grow and heal from social interaction, no matter how damaged-to-eradicated they are, I just find the idea of this specific character becoming something very different than the worst-case scenario seen in the actual game deeply interesting._

 _That said, as fascinating it is to write a young Vanitas bounce off Terra and Aqua, as difficult it is to bring him to actually interact with them in non-violent ways. Hence why I'd decided early on that one of the first actually meaningful social interaction and "bonding"-experience he would have with them would definitely have to be combat. As for where it goes from here... Let's see. I do have my plans, but in the end, the characters' dynamics and chemistry will be what decides how the scenes I imagine actually end up happening._


	6. Fun

A part of life is that things change. It doesn't matter how natural or normal a state it seems to be, sometimes all it takes for things to become very different from how they'd been before is a simple action or a few words.

"I... I'll be training with you from now on. That's all"

It took Vanitas effort to say that line. Humility wasn't his strong suit, and he felt the need to present himself 'strong' and not show weakness. If he bowed his head to them, that would just be an invitation for them to walk all over him, wouldn't it? So he held it high when he entered the castle's throne hall, especially as he passed by the watching eyes of Master Eraqus, whom he ignored.

His Keyblade held in both hands, as if to demonstrate its existence, Vanitas stood before Terra and Aqua, awaiting their response. His eyes avoided theirs. He had no idea with what expression to face them, or what kind of reply he could expect from them. The whole scene seemed so unreal to him, he wasn't even sure if he wasn't simply asleep right now, seeing one of Ventus' memories in his dreams.

Why was he here, speaking to Eraqus' students? Because he wanted to fight. Why was he so eager to fight? Because of the way it made him feel. What exactly was so great about the way it felt? Because it wasn't unpleasant. Quite the opposite, actually.

'Fun.' That was the word. Fighting Terra had been fun. If he could only have fun like that again, he wouldn't care what he'd have to do for it. Even being forced to speak to those two annoying, Master-loving idiots was fine, he supposed.

But he didn't expect them to welcome him. And he didn't understand it when they did.

"...Heheh. You don't need to announce yourself like this, you know," Aqua said. "I mean, we're all here to train, right? Did you think we wouldn't let you?"

Vanitas looked up at her. "But I never joined training before..."

"Yeah, because until the other day you were avoiding everything to do with us like the plague," Terra scoffed a little, but then smiled. "Really, kid. Training together with you and Ventus was the first thing we knew was going to happen eventually when the Master brought the two of you here. Don't feel like you need our permission to join us."

They could say that to him, but that didn't mean he understood.

He joined their exercises that morning, quietly, if bored, mimicking them as they practiced the use of their Keyblades. All the while, Vanitas could feel Eraqus' eyes on his back, cold and full of suspicion. Even so, Eraqus didn't address Vanitas' presence in the room at any point. He would neither greet him, nor request he leave, or even speak a word of warning to his students. Instead, he just kept supervising their training, his eyes near constantly locked on only Vanitas.

They did not spar during that session, and Vanitas, impatient as he was, was just about to leave in disappointment, when Terra offered to teach him a few of his own tricks. Wouldn't doing this be giving Terra a disadvantage in their next battle, Vanitas wondered out loud? He found it a stupid thing to do. But Terra only laughed and proceeded to show him anyway. Even more behavior Vanitas didn't understand, but somehow just this one time, he found it a little less irritating than usually. He was still eager to learn and grow stronger in battle. If Terra himself was handing Vanitas the means to defeat him in their next battle, he guessed he had no reason to complain about it, as little sense as it made.

The hours passed, much faster than they usually seemed to. The clock struck eleven in the morning, and Terra, who was on Kitchen Duty, left to prepare their lunch for the day, while Aqua went to tend to Ventus. Vanitas was left alone in the hall, or at least, he thought he was, until he remembered those cold eyes in his back, whose presence he'd almost forgotten while exercising the Sliding Dash skill.

"So," Eraqus approached Vanitas and, for the first time in what must have been weeks, spoke to him. "You have chosen to associate with my students?"

"Tch. 'Chosen' nothing," Vanitas said. "They ' _associated_ ' with me. Constantly. I just got tired of evading them. That's all."

"And I am supposed to believe that?"

Eraqus' eyes slanted, but Vanitas only laughed.

"What? You don't like the fact that your pristine, pure angels are talking to someone like me, old man? Maybe you should have told them to stay away from me right from the start then."

"I am not teaching my students to rely on distrust and suspicion," Eraqus stated calmly.

"Well, then you've taught them better than yourself," Vanitas returned.

"Unlike them, _I_ know what you are," said Eraqus.

Vanitas fell silent.

"You may have interfered with Ventus' recovery," Eraqus continued to speak after a brief pause. "But I did not sense any malice in your decision to join Aqua and Terra on their morning training today. In the end you are still an aspect of Ventus, an apprentice of the Keyblade, I suppose. All you learn will ultimately benefit him... Very well. As long as you do not bring harm to my students or meddle with their progress, I can allow you to participate in their training."

"... It's all only for Ventus' sake, huh?" Vanitas glanced up at Eraqus, letting out a brief, bitter laugh. "Funny. That almost sounds as if you were actually still trying to put us back together. Just almost."

"You would do good to not speak in this condescending tone," Eraqus said. "Of course it is true that I had hoped I would be able to restore Ventus' heart much faster. But unfortunately, there are not many records on the exact nature of what Xehanort has done to him in our scriptures. That which comes closest concerns the creation of creatures from the Realm of Darkness... But the only method of reversing it that I could derive from what has been written there could possibly mean Ventus' demise, should I be wrong. That is why I am not ready to attempt it quite yet. Regrettably."

Vanitas looked at Eraqus. It was weird. For a moment there, it almost sounded as if Eraqus was trying to apologize. But Vanitas quickly realized that this apologetic tone wasn't meant for him. It was for Ventus. Of course. For whom else.

"Let me make one thing clear. When I said that I did not believe your words, I was not referring to your claim that my students have approached you first," Eraqus continued. "I am not blind to what is happening in this castle. I did notice the way in which Aqua took interest to you. That she is feeling sympathy for you is in no way surprising to me. Her heart is compassionate by nature. That is why I did not interfere until now."

"...Sympathy, huh?"

"A concept that is difficult to comprehend for you, I would imagine?"

He didn't know about 'difficult to comprehend'. It was more that the mere idea of it made him feel offended. 'Sympathy' sounded like something you give to the weak, a dirty, insulting word, used to taunt those beneath you. That wasn't how the way Aqua spoke to him felt, though. Not anymore. He let the thought go through his head. Was the way she was acting towards him really 'sympathy'? But she'd given him valid advice, shown him the path towards the battle he had enjoyed so much. The things she'd said to him had made him... stronger.

That was supposed to be 'sympathy'? 'Compassion'?

"I do trust my students. If they choose to interact with you of their own will, I will not stop them. However, just know that should you harm them in any way, I will not show you any mercy. And also, be aware that this will not last."

"...Because sooner or later, you'll put me back into Ventus?" Vanitas asked. Eraqus nodded.

"When the time comes, I'll reveal the truth to Aqua and Terra, preparing them to meet the true Ventus, reborn from the union of the both of you. That way, even if they somehow ended up forming a sort of tie to you, they will not need to grief when the day comes. The experiences you make here are rightfully his. Remember that."

' _That's alright,_ ' Vanitas thought to himself. ' _As long as I won't have to hurt as much as before anymore, I don't care whom these memories will belong to in the end._ '

* * *

A few days after that, Ventus' heart began to stir again. This time, the frequency of the motions Vanitas sensed increased much faster. It was almost interesting to keep track of them. Ventus' recognition of (and affection for) his two primary caretakers were the first to return, quickly followed by his grotesque love for cake. The emotions he felt progressively got more complex from then on out.

 _'At this rate, you'll be back to sitting on chairs and staring at windows in no time,'_ Vanitas thought, unsure how to feel about Ventus' progress. On one hand, the memory of seeing Ventus in that pathetic state, slow, clumsy, unable to form proper sentences or think for himself, still made Vanitas feel spiteful and disgusted, but on the other hand, something about observing Ventus' emotions growing from afar and seeing how Aqua and Terra affected them was oddly... fascinating to him.

Maybe that was because of how much he was now interacting with Aqua and Terra himself.

The three of them were sparring near daily now, sometimes taking turns, sometimes all against one another. Sometimes they would use their Keyblades, but in most cases, wooden replicas became their weapon of choice instead. Vanitas soon learned why. The strike of an actual Keyblade was far more severe and damaging than that of wood. By using those 'toys', they ensured their training battles could take a bit longer, as they would not tire each other out as quickly. It wasn't a stupid idea at all, especially if you wanted to make the fighting last. And so, even though Vanitas had initially insisted on using his Keyblade at nearly all times, one evening he sat down next to the castle walls with a large piece of wood and a knife he'd taken from the kitchen, and began to clumsily carve. Just a few minutes after he had begun, Terra found him. He sat down by his side and taught him how to do it. Vanitas allowed Terra to teach him.

It was all for the sake of fighting, which was still the best feeling Vanitas knew. It didn't matter if it was against Aqua, Terra or both of them at once. When he was in battle, Vanitas felt a rush taking hold of his body, making him light and nimble like a leaf in the wind, yet powerful enough to shatter metal with his Keyblade. It was an amazing sensation, as if there were no restraints or limits on him, and he could do whatever he wanted. Freedom and excitement. Thrilling speed and tremendous power. During those times when he was fighting, it was as if all his pain, all the fears and insecurities Vanitas felt every single day, simply didn't matter. Those battles were worth attending the boring, repetitive exercises Eraqus had his students do, and worth the slight humiliation of allowing Terra and Aqua to teach him like one would teach a child. He was able to feel _good_ during those times, able to laugh and forget that he wasn't Ventus. Forget that Ventus even existed.

"You've been acting more like your age, you know," Aqua said out of the blue one day, while watching Vanitas carve away a few dents in his wooden blade.

"Hm?" He briefly looked up at her with dull eyes, indicating he neither understood the comment, nor appreciated it.

"It's a good thing," Aqua assured him. "I still remember, when you first came here, you never smiled. It worried me a little."

"...Hm." What a weird thing to worry about. Vanitas turned his attention back to his work and mumbled, "Not like I'd smile without a reason..."

"Why would you need a reason?" Aqua asked.

He looked up at her again, "Why would you _not_ need a reason?"

Both their questions were sincere, and they both knew it.

They didn't get to continue the conversation thereafter. Terra had returned with their lunch; a small mountain of sandwiches, diligently stacked up in the shape of a pyramid on a plate.

"You do know that there's still half a bowl of Merry Dairy Pudding in the fridge that needs to be eaten, right?" Aqua asked when she saw the plate.

Terra rolled his eyes, "I'm telling you, that's not lunch, that's dessert! If you want to have it so badly, you can get yourself some after this."

"I don't think I'll be able to eat anything after this," countered Aqua. "You made so much! Hah... It's just a shame about the pudding. What a waste..."

"Should have thought about that before you tried to force the whole castle to eat your milky goo," said Vanitas, before grabbing an especially meaty-looking sandwich from the middle of the pyramid. With it removed, the entire remaining construction was on the brink of toppling over, but thankfully Terra was quick to react, saving the top layers of the stack.

"Pudding!" Aqua insisted on the correct wording. "And I didn't force anybody to eat it. It's just that it's one of Ventus' favorites. The Master's, too."

"But it's not one of _our_ favorites, Aqua," Terra sighed, reconstructing the Pyramid, before taking a sandwich for his own to eat. "And Vanitas, let's try to eat from top to bottom here, alright? I didn't make lunch so we can eat it off the ground."

"I eat what I want to eat," said Vanitas, grabbing another sandwich, this time from the pyramid's bottom. "If that bugs you so much, put the good stuff on top next time."

"Since when am I supposed to take orders from you?" Terra quickly lunched to keep the other side of the construction from falling. He could hear Aqua giggling.

"Here. Let me help you with that," she said, and with a snap of her fingers and a spell-word, Aqua caused the sandwiches to levitate, sorting them into a new, more stable arrangement mid-air.

"Thanks," Terra sighed, then sorely glanced into Vanitas' direction. "Brat... Hey, if you're going to be so picky about food around here, you could at least help with making it!"

"Hm, Terra is right, you know!" Aqua agreed. _"_ Now that you're training and sparring with us, maybe it's time you got involved in the chores around the castle as well. It's only fair. Kitchen duty would be a good start!"

Vanitas almost spat out the bread he was chewing when he realized Aqua was being serious about her suggestion.

"Fine. If the two of you don't value your lives, sure, go ahead. I've never cooked in my life."

"You really do love being dramatic about these things, don't you?" Terra sighed. "It's not that hard to make sandwiches, kid. You can't exactly kill people with them."

"Oh, just you watch. I bet'cha, I'd find a way."

He wasn't joking about that. In his mind, Vanitas could vividly see the many, many different options open to him in the regard. There was, for one, the possibility of poisoning the food. A trip to Eraqus' study to retrieve some sort of powder or liquid one could easily overdose on would suffice for that. In case that that was out of question, searching the forest for toxic plants or fungi was a good option as well. You could also plant sharp objects in the food, shards of glass or metal, which one wouldn't see right away, but which would cut and wound the victim almost immediately upon ingestion. Or, he could simply make the food so awful, it would make everyone who ate it go so terribly sick, that they'd be helpless to defend themselves if they were to be assaulted from behind...

All of these were valid ways to do what Terra so naively claimed to be impossible. Each one of them sounded like an interesting thing to try for Vanitas... But he wouldn't. As it was, harming Aqua and Terra was not in his interest, and not only because Eraqus had warned him to refrain from it. It was simple, really: If the two of them were dead, who would he spar with? Without them, he'd go back to spending his days doing nothing but think useless thoughts. As it was, he was best off with them alive and well, he thought to himself.

Yeah, the thought of Aqua and Terra just suddenly being gone... It didn't sit well with him. Not at all...

"Well, alright then. It's not like I don't know by now how much you like being contrary just for the sake of it. I'm just saying; If you took every third shift of kitchen duty around here, the two of us wouldn't have to put up with Aqua's three-course desserts half the time."

"Why don't you just take a double-shift then?" Vanitas smirked. A nice attempt on Terra's part, really, but unlike him, Vanitas could simply stop eating entirely if he didn't like the food he was getting. This sort of 'stake' wasn't going to convince him.

Terra's palm hit his face. He shook his head, "You sure are a piece of work, you know that?"

"I still don't quite understand what the both of you have against my cooking..." Aqua seemed just the slightest bit offended by the whole exchange.

Terra rolled his eyes, "Tell me, do all girls get that mopey when you don't constantly want to eat dessert?"

"Well, I can only speak for this one girl," Aqua said. "But how would you feel if I told you that you put too much salt into the dough for the bread again?"

At that Terra jerked. "What? ...I-I didn't bake it!"

"Well, I don't remember ever buying that much. Where else would it have come from?"

"Y-You're probably misremembering."

"I am not! ...What are you being so fidgety for, Terra?"

While this exchange continued, Vanitas chose to ignore the others and grab the remaining three sandwiches for himself while they were distracted.

He had no idea what Aqua was talking about. The bread was just fine the way it was.

* * *

The days passed by, swiftly and precisely like the individual 'tick's and 'tock's of a clock. A rhythm for the Keyblade wielders quickly solidified itself; They woke up early in the morning, shortly before dawn, preparing for the day and eating breakfast, before commencing with their exercises, usually refining their abilities or practicing individual skills under Master Eraqus' supervision. Those hours tended to be trying on Vanitas, whose patience with simple warm up exercises and the frustrations of trying to perfect a complex succession of movements was rather low, but the new combat abilities he acquired were usually worth it. Sometimes, when Eraqus wasn't present, Aqua would even try to instruct him in the art of magic, something the Master claimed was far too advanced for him to attempt yet.

"Hm... It's not that you have no talent, not at all..." Aqua crossed her arms, observing the dark flames dancing across the floor with a skeptical eye.

"Really?" Vanitas asked dully, shaking some ash off his Keyblade. "Because it sounds like you're saying that I don't."

"No, that's not the problem... Listen." Sighing, Aqua walked up to Vanitas. "When you cast magic, what is it that you're thinking about?"

"Casting magic," Vanitas replied, still sounding dull.

Aqua shook her head. "No, I mean. emotionally. I'm asking because, for some reason, every time you try to cast this spell, it seems to come out somewhat… tainted."

"Tainted?" Vanitas asked, as if he didn't already knew what she meant. He actually did. Sort of, at least.

Of course, Aqua then said exactly what he expected.

"Magic draws from the power of the heart. It takes the light and dark within it to summon something powerful, like the elements themselves. Because of that, the way you feel is very important when it comes to spellcasting. I've been trying to teach you how to cast elemental spells for a few days now, and I've told you how you need to focus your thoughts to make it work, right? And yet, every time you do cast a spell, it seems to come out, well, "dark"."

There were a few moments of silence then, as Aqua looked at Vanitas with troubled eyes, all the while he only continued to clean his Keyblade, idly.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Aqua finally asked.

"What should I say?" Vanitas returned. "Oh. Darkness. That's terrible. I feel so bad about myself. How dare I not think happy, bright puppy-rainbow thoughts while casting magic. "

"That's not what I mean..."

"But that's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

"Wait, why would I be thinking that?" asked Aqua.

Vanitas fell silent.

"It's just that I'm worried about you." Aqua looked a little sad. "You've been here for three weeks now, but even so, the Darkness still has this strong a hold on you? I thought... I'd hoped you'd be feeling a little better by now..."

He didn't know why, but she said this, Vanitas bit his lip. The things Eraqus had said about Aqua came back to him. 'Sympathy', huh? Why did that make him feel 'guilt'?

* * *

At the strike of the clock at nine in the morning, the exercises would end, and the students would leave the throne hall to tend to their personal needs. Often, Aqua and Terra would leave to take care of Ventus for a bit. Other times, they would try to finish a few leftover chores from the previous day. Vanitas, however, would roam the castle at this time, either just walking to pass the time, or finding a spot to take a nap until the clock would strike ten. That was when combat training would begin, usually unsupervised by Eraqus. Outside the castle walls, on the grassy fields, the three of them would test their strength in battle against one another, until the sun passed far beyond its zenith. Then, at three in the afternoon, they would return to the castle and take care of their duties for the day.

It took only a few more days after they'd first discussed it until Vanitas became sick enough of walking the castle at random or starring at his room's ceiling for hours on end, that he decided to join in on these tasks after all, if only to pass the time.

"Alright.. Let's try this one. I mean, there's no way you're gonna break anything important doing this, right?"

Once again, Terra was tempting fate. In the past two days, Aqua's and his attempts to get Vanitas involved in their chores around the castle had resulted in three baskets of torn up laundry, seven smashed plates and six shattered cups, a flooded bathroom and hallway and many, many hours of Eraqus' students working until late into the night to clean up after the mess made by the newcomer.

Now Terra and Vanitas were standing outside the castle, in the woods where they had first battled each other. There was an ax in Terra's hands.

"You're going to chop firewood for the castle," Terra said. "See, you just strike the trees, like this! ONE! TWO! THREE!"

With every number he was counting, Terra took a swing against the old pine tree in front of him, whittling away the connection of the trunk to its roots more and more.

"There. You're good at that, right?" Terra smiled, lightly tossing the ax into Vanitas' hands, who caught it, rather unimpressed. "When you're done, just cut the wood up into small logs, load them onto the cart we brought, and bring them back home. Easy enough."

Vanitas hadn't said a word all throughout Terra's explanation, mostly because he was feeling quite ridiculous about this whole situation. Why did he decide to help out with this again? He kept having to remind himself of his own boredom. Terra's belittling tone certainly didn't help.

"Alright, time for you to give it a try. I'll be watching from over here, if you don't mind."

Terra walked over to the wooden cart they'd brought, leaning against it with his arms loosely crossed and one leg angled off against the cart's wheel. He watched Vanitas, waiting for the boy to do his assigned chore.

Vanitas took a look at the ax in his hands, then at Terra. Then the ax again. Cutting wood, huh? Killing trees. The same as just a while ago, before his first real battle. He still remembered what that had been like. Slow, monotonous, tedious. Wood doesn't bleed or fight back, trees don't scream or laugh. It's just strike after strike, on and on. Boring and pointless. Did that muscled teenager by the cart even understand the reason Vanitas was going along with these stupid 'duties' in the first place? However, no matter how long he stood there and waited, Terra would just keep waiting in return, anticipating for him to work. A stalemate.

As the seconds threatened to turn into minutes, Vanitas began to wonder what Terra was thinking, starring at him like this without saying anything, even though Vanitas wasn't moving. Maybe he thought that Vanitas was confused? That he didn't know yet how to do what was expected of him, and still needed time to figure it out? Did he think that he was just slow? Did he think that he was stupid?

Vanitas got moving when that thought crossed his mind, filling it with spite. Scoffing in Terra's direction, he picked out a tree close to the cart. Then, he raised the ax and began to strike. Swiftly. One, two, three strikes in under 5 seconds! Three more, and then one last push... Bam! The pine fell...

 _"W-Whoa!"_

...Right to Terra's feet, just missing the older boy by a hair.

The next moment Vanitas found himself snorting and snickering at the sight before him. Startled by the pine descending upon him, Terra had stumbled backwards and fallen into the cart behind. Now he was lying inside it, wide-eyed, pale and sweating, uncomfortably lodged between the two walls of the vehicle. His face alone was enough to make Vanitas feel purest Schadenfreude.

"Priceless...!" Vanitas muttered as he continued laughing at Terra's expense. The taller boy was only slowly regaining his grasp on his surroundings.

"W-What the... What do you think you're doing!?" Terra bellowed as he swung himself back out of the cart. If glares could kill, Vanitas would have dropped dead right where he stood that moment. "Do you have any idea how heavy that sort of tree is!? You could have seriously hurt me!"

"Yeah, I could have," Vanitas agreed, still laughing. "But I didn't. Funny how these things turn out, right?"

" _Nothing_ about this is funny!" yelled Terra.

"Well, it is to me," argued Vanitas. Terra's irritation left him unimpressed. "Tch, really now? That little prank took you off-guard that badly? And someone like you wants to call himself a Keyblade Master. _That's_ the most hilarious thing about all of this, if you ask me."

By now, Terra's face was hot-red with anger and embarrassment. Oh no, not a chance! Even if he'd promised Aqua that he'd try to get along with him, if there was one thing he definitely wasn't going to allow, it was for this kid, this _little imp_ to make a fool of him like this! Ridiculing his aspirations, even. He _had_ to teach him a lesson now, come what may.

"Just you wait... Grhhh...!"

Terra got on his feet, summoning the Earthshaker. Focusing his power, he lunged forward, in the general direction of Vanitas, and in a single dash...

"H- _Huh_!?"

Bam! Another tree fell. This time right behind Vanitas' back. In a single, clean slash, Terra had cut down a large cedar.

"Cedar wood is good for smoking meat. I guess we can use this at dinner," the older boy stated, using his hakama pants to wipe the sap off the blade of his weapon. A wide-eyed Vanitas turned around to look at him. When the black-haired boy saw what Terra had accomplished with only a single swing of his Keyblade, he felt mortified.

 _'H-He cut the whole thing in one blow? Then what was all that counting about...!?'_

Seven strikes. Vanitas had needed seven strikes to cut the pine. Right now, that number alone filled him with shame and frustration. In front of him, Terra kept talking.

"This is an important task, you know. We rely on wood for a lot of things in the castle. To keep warm, to cook, to run all the machines we can't power with magic alone. I thought this might be one thing we could trust you to help out with, one that you'd at least try to take it seriously. But I guess not. Hmpf..." Terra raised the Earthshaker again. "If you're not gonna do it, I guess I'm stuck with taking care of it again. Same as yesterday. Oh well..."

That said, Terra took a deep breath. Calm, right, he had to try and calm down. He had almost raised his blade against Vanitas there. Challenging the boy to a fight out of nothing but anger... Again? Really? Hadn't his Master thought him better? He had to learn to control these urges, channel them into more productive things than senseless violence, like cutting this tree into logs, for example. And that was what he'd do now. Breathing in and out one last time, he prepared to bring his Keyblade down onto the wood.

He never got to do it. Before he could, a blur of black and grey rushed past him, striking at the tree again and again in lightning quick succession. In less than a minute, the wood of the cedar was laying before him, cut into at least 50 logs of roughly one meters length and various levels of width. On top of the pile stood Vanitas, glaring.

"What? You thought I couldn't do this? Just because I'm a little shorter and less muscle-packed than you? Is that it?"

Snapping out of his surprise at what had just happened - Wow, Vanitas really _was_ fast - Terra glared back at the boy.

"I do not think that you're too weak!" he clarified. "But I do think that you're too _childish_!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, could a child do this!?"

Vanitas kicked off the pile of wood, dashing towards a straight row of three young oaks close by. Using the velocity built in his dash, he cut almost to the core of all three of these trees in just one single slash. Then, he swung around another tree straight ahead to turn his path by 180 degrees and slashed the three trees again from the other side. After that, each of the three was only held upright by a thin streak of wood right in the middle. Vanitas nonchalantly kicked the leftmost oak into the other two, bringing all three of them to fall at once. This entire process took under 30 seconds total. Terra stared.

"Okay... That's impressive," he admitted. "Even if it doesn't really help your point."

"What do you mean, it doesn't help my point!?" Vanitas asked, irritated.

"Because being good at cutting wood doesn't make you any less of a kid!"

"Well, I don't see you taking better care of this 'very important task', Mr. 'Serious, Responsible Adult'!"

"Gah! You're not listening to a thing I'm saying, are you!? And, besides!"

Terra ran over to the three oaks Vanitas had just brought to fall and focused. Figuring out the perfect point to cut, he struck each of them precisely once, splitting them into clean halves. Then, he quartered the halves, and finally, cut them into a bunch of small logs of the precisely the same shape.

"I'm... just as good at this... as you are...!" Terra gasped between strikes as he was still cutting. In total, it took him a little more than a minute to slice the oaks to pieces.

"...If not even better," he finished, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

Before the two boys now laid a pile of oak-wood logs. Vanitas gnashed his teeth and growled.

"That doesn't count!" he insisted.

Terra raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"Those trees were young, thin and soft! The one I cut up was a lot bigger and older!"

"But you felled those three!"

"Yeah, and you felled only one so far!"

"Oh, so it's a competition now?"

"Sure looks like one to me."

"Okay then, you're on!"

Something got lost among the sea of different motivations bubbling and boiling together in the pot of this conversation. It stopped being about Vanitas' lack of maturity or Terra's frustration in dealing with it. No, now it was all about logs. Who could cut the most logs, the fastest, the most precise, could cut the prettiest logs, from the best wood, in the most efficient way. Huge grins on both their faces, the two Keyblade Wielders kept dashing about the woods, felling every tree they could find, and getting continuously more creative with the methods they used to do so. Using wide swipes for larger gashes. Dousing their Keyblades in fire magic and using the fire to cut a large number of trees at once. Using ice magic to make the blade even sharper. Leaping high up and cutting the tree in half from top to bottom first. There was no idea they left untested.

"So, are you giving up yet?" Terra began to taunt in-between his strikes.

"Well, that's just stupid. Why would I be giving up when I'm winning?" Vanitas taunted back while rushing by.

"I'm just saying. From where I'm standing, my pile is looking a lot bigger right now."

"Yeah, and a lot uglier too! Plus, the size issue... Well, I'll have that solved in a second."

Vanitas tossed an additional ten logs onto his pile. Now his pile was just a tiny bit taller than Terra's.

Neither of the two would say it, but it was quite obvious to both of them that they were rather evenly matched. However, that only made the two boys feel even more motivated to take themselves beyond their own limits, raising the challenge. Where Terra excelled in raw power, Vanitas made up for it with speed. It was honestly quite exciting for the both of them to see how far their individual strengths could take them, and if they could be used to surpass one another.

"You know," Terra began to speak more calmly once he'd found a sweet spot for his working rhythm. "I could never do something like this with Aqua."

"Why? Is she too dainty to cut a little wood?"

"Huh? What? No, why'd you even think that! I'm talking about competing like this!"

"Oh."

Well, now Vanitas felt a little silly. For a moment he'd all forgotten that they'd agreed upon considering this a competition at all.

"Aqua, you know... She's great with the Keyblade. Always out to refine her magic and her technique. She's precise, she's elegant, and absolutely not the type to get carried away by her emotions in battle. I know I shouldn't be letting myself get carried away either, but sometimes I really wonder if she even knows what she's missing! She probably can't even imagine how much fun it is to go above and beyond like this."

"And why are you telling me this?" asked Vanitas.

Terra just kept chopping away and grinning.

"I don't know. It just felt like a good moment to say it."

"To me, of all people?"

"Well, you're the one I'm having this competition with, aren't you?"

"...I guess that's true enough."

And it was only a second after he'd said this, that Vanitas realized something: This had been the first time he'd admitted to agree with Terra on anything. How odd that felt. Odd enough to make him stop in his tracks and think about it for a moment. One single moment, which Terra used to add another fifteen logs to his pile.

"Thanks for the lead!" Terra laughed from the side, snapping Vanitas out of his thoughts.

"Oh no, you _don't_!"

The contest was still on.

At the end of it, there were no winners. No scores to count, no achievements to claim. Only scorn and shame, delivered by Aqua's judging eyes and in the form of a harsh scolding from Master Eraqus himself.

"What in the world did the two of you think you were doing?" asked a very baffled Master.

"You cut down _half the forest_!" Aqua added, the wide gestures of her arms attempting to visualize the scope of what had happened.

To say Terra was 'flustered' would have been a gross understatement. He had to struggle to maintain eye contact with his Master or Aqua for longer than a second at a time and he flinched at each of their words. Vanitas, on the other hand, was fairly unfazed by the sermon delivered upon them. He seemed much more interested in visually comparing the two more or less equally sized piles of wood a few meters away from the group. When he squinted, his pile really did look just the slightest bit taller, probably, maybe.

Eraqus massaged his temples, trying to comprehend the situation, "To be perfectly frank, I am not one bit surprised to see Vanitas indulging in destructive mischief around the castle premises. I believe we've become quite accustomed to this part of our daily routine by now. But to see you, Terra, involved in this chaos... I thought I'd taught you better."

"F-Forgive me, Master." Terra bowed down so deeply, his fringe hair almost touched the ground. It looked as if he were just about to go into his knees and beg. Eraqus sighed.

"Well, if nothing else, your excessive wood-chopping must have at least served as a decent exercise to your skills. You were using your Keyblades, and the amount you managed to cut in this short time is impressive. Still, the damage done to our woodlands remains extensive and cannot be tolerated. You and Vanitas will be spending the next weeks planting a new forest to replace the one you have eroded. I hope you understand why this is necessary?"

"Perfectly understood, Master!" Terra professed. "I swear, I will make up for the damage I caused."

Vanitas, however, stayed silent. Eraqus cast him a brief glance, but didn't further bother with him. With everything said and done, the Master nodded as his students and turned on his heels, walking away and leaving them to themselves. Aqua stayed by the side of Terra, who was still stuck in his bowing, almost crouching position, looking exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The blue-haired girl sighed.

"Really, Terra... What were you thinking?"

"I... I don't think I was..." Terra mumbled. "...Thinking."

Aqua shook her head, looking at the wasteland of tree-stumps behind them.

"It's not that I'm mad at you. I just don't understand it. Just look at this! When are we ever going to need this much wood? You know that it doesn't last for that long after we cut it. Most of it is going to rot before we ever get to use it. Why would you cut that much?"

Terra bit his lip. "Because... I... Umm..."

"Because it was fun."

The new voice joining the conversation startled both Aqua and Terra. They turned towards the piles of logs and found Vanitas sitting on one of them, holding an especially nice-looking piece of wood in his hands.

"By the way, Terra. I win. It's 572 to 564. You're making me steak tomorrow."

He then tossed the log he was holding down to Terra, who, rather confused, caught it, then looked down onto it, finding that it was, in fact, a piece of cedar wood.

"Wait. It was a _game_!?" Aqua stared at both boys alternately, her expression a mixture of baffled and dazed. "You two cut down half of our forest for a game!? No, Terra, please explain this to me! Nothing about this makes sense!"

As Aqua was still staring at her longtime friend with the most confused eyes he'd ever see her wear in her life, Vanitas had jumped down the pile of wood he was sitting on, and was now walking towards the castle gates.

"Well, Aqua," Vanitas said, as he passed by the two older wielders. "Maybe some things don't _need_ to make sense. Maybe you just don't know what you're missing."

Those words, however deadpan they may have been, ended up putting a smile on Terra's exhausted face. Just a slight one. While Vanitas kept walking and left the group, Terra laughed a bit.

"Hm? What's funny now?" Aqua asked. She seemed increasingly frustrated by the situation in front of her. "Terra, I don't get any of this. I mean, the Master... No, what I said, just now... I was right, wasn't I? I'm not misunderstanding anything here... am I?"

Terra's laughter just grew louder.

"Of course you were right!" he said. "You were right about pretty much everything."

"Huh?" Now she understood nothing at all anymore. "Right about everything... What?"

Before he could continue speaking, Terra had to calm his laughing a little.

"Did you notice?" he then asked Aqua. "...This was the first time he used our names."

The information took a couple of seconds to sink in. Then, as if a switch had been turned, Aqua finally began to understand and the baffled scowl on her face slowly turned into a soft smile to mirror Terra's. Both of them then looked in the direction the younger boy had left into, a quiet sense of accomplishment on their minds. Behind the castle, the sun was setting.

* * *

The evenings at the castle meant more training, followed by dinner, and then yet more chores. The rhythm was simple, really, and yet still complicated for Vanitas to become accustomed to. It took him a while to understand that everything that was done in this castle was done for a reason, and that none of these things were meant to insult, belittle or hurt him. The more he let off on his resistance, the more he became able to embrace the routine, let it become a ritual, from waking to sleep, in which he felt safe and comfortable.

And then came the day when Ventus first left his room, changing everything.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _Aqua is me. Well, not really, but the way she acts when it comes to food is pretty much the way I act about it, minus the sugar-obsession. My boyfriend pointed that out to me when he proofread the chapter. Oh, talking about my boyfriend, you can thank him for the wood-chopping scene. I was absolutely stumped when I tried to write another Terra &Vanitas interaction scene, but he had some brilliant ideas that quickly pulled me out of my slump. Praise to him._

 _Also, feel free to imagine aforementioned wood-cutting contest scene as an in-game minigame, because that's how I thought of it when I wrote it. I even listened to the Daybreak Town Battle Theme from KHx (which I consider great Minigame BGM) all throughout writing it._

 _Talking about KHx, due to some things in the game that I found out about recently, I went back to some past chapters, changing some minor things, to dodge any eventual continuity problems that might arise with future KHUx updates. (Goddamnit Nomura, stop adding plot-threads already, when are you ever gonna resolve any of this? KH3 better be a 200 hour playtime game...)_

 _Anyway, writing this chapter, it occurred to me that I have been spending so much time with Vanitas so far, that there's still half a novel-chapter worth of scenes involving Ventus' recovery that I haven't adapted in any form yet. Let's see if I can manage to put rough equivalents of all of that into the next two chapters... It's gonna be fun writing interactions between Ventus and Vanitas that do not result in the former of the two screaming on the floor._


	7. Want

It hadn't been planned. One day, when Terra had just left Ventus' chamber after eating a small brunch with him, he found that Ventus had followed him outside. His eyes still dull as lead and his movements still as unnatural as a doll's, the boy had yet decided to step out the door of his own will. The news of this sent the castle into a frenzy, with Aqua overjoyed at the sight of their young charge walking around on his two feet, exploring more of this castle he had been living in for more than a month now. Then again, maybe calling it 'exploring' was quite a stretch. Ventus' movements were still uncoordinated and his gaze would never trail anywhere other than to either what was right in front of him or the ground. Generally, he seemed to be staring through things and into the void much more than he was actually looking at them. Nevertheless, this was great progress. Aqua and Terra were ecstatic about Ventus' improved conditions, immediately making plans on what new things they could do with him around. He would be able to join their meals, observe their training, join them on walks in the forests outside the castle ( _"You mean the one you cut down?" - "T-There's still half of it left, right?"_ ) and generally take part in their lives much more than before. It seemed so perfect, so simple to welcome their new friend into their group with open arms. There was only one problem.

"If Ventus is to observe your daily activities from now on, then we need to restrict Vanitas from partaking in them."

"Huh?" Aqua couldn't believe what she heard Eraqus saying. "What? But why? Master, that isn't-"

"Yes, it isn't fair towards Vanitas. I understand that, Aqua," Eraqus replied. "But even so, we cannot allow ourselves to put Ventus' recovery at risk yet again. You've seen what happened last time the two of them came into contact, haven't you?"

Aqua, however, shook her head, "Master, I swear, he didn't do that! I... I was there, Master! I saw it with my own eyes. When Vanitas came into Ventus' room, the two of them were only looking at each other, right until it happened. I'm sorry for not telling you about what I saw until now, but you have to believe me."

"I do believe you, Aqua," Eraqus replied. "And I am not angry with you for keeping this detail to yourself until now. To be honest, I'd suspected that you must have been present when it happened for a long time already, and I understand that witnessing Ventus' collapse that day probably caused you great shock. Still, I am afraid this doesn't change the fact that it is too dangerous to allow Vanitas to make contact with Ventus again."

Now it was Terra who spoke up, "I don't understand, Master. Why would it be bad for Ventus to see his own brother?"

It was here that Eraqus went silent for a moment, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He sighed. "Vanitas... may be part of the reason that Ventus became the way he is now."

"Huh!?"

Aqua and Terra both gasped. Ventus' sickness was Vanitas' fault? Almost instinctively, both of them wanted to speak up, say that they couldn't believe their younger companion would do such a thing... But the memories of the many, many less-than-nice things the boy had done to them were still too fresh on their mind to make any such statement feel genuine. Especially Aqua, who had seen how Vanitas had yelled at and strangled Ventus couldn't bring herself to try and defend him.

"Still," Terra eventually found words he could follow up with. "Vanitas is a wielder of the Keyblade, just like us. He still needs to train, doesn't he? He has only just started getting used to our life here. It doesn't seem right to just tell him to stay away, after all this."

"Hm..." Eraqus lowered his head a little. He understood the way his students felt, he really did. To them, Vanitas was just a Keyblade Wielder. Of course it would seem like a tremendous injustice to them to simply strip that boy of the privilege to hone his skills for something that was clearly outside of his control. And even aside this fact, Eraqus had to admit... Ever since the incident in the forest, there had been no greater problems involving that boy around the castle. Vanitas' ability to restrain his destructive nature had improved. Could Eraqus really just dismiss such effort? After all, he did know very well that this poor creature from the Darkness was far more deserving of his pity, than his scorn.

"Master, if I may make a suggestion?" Aqua said, taking a step forward. "If it really is that dangerous to allow Ventus and Vanitas to meet each other, how about we split up our time and attention, so we can give a bit to each of them?"

Terra looked over to her, "You mean, like, taking turns training with them?"

Aqua nodded, "Yeah! I mean, you know how much Vanitas likes to skip breakfast and sleep in, right? So Ventus can have breakfast with us, and Vanitas dinner. When we do our morning exercises, Ventus can rest, and when we do our evening exercises, Ventus can watch and Vanitas can go to bed early. We'll have the Master watch over Ventus when we spar with Vanitas, but when it's just the two of us, we'll let him sit by the side and watch... Oh, of course only if the Master agrees with that, I mean."

"Hm." Eraqus thought about what Aqua was saying. Slowly, a warm smile grew on his face. "Clever Aqua," he said, stretching out a hand to put it on her shoulder. "That is a marvelous idea. I should have known I could trust in you to find an acceptable compromise."

Aqua clapped her hands together and laughed, "Then we'll do it?"

Eraqus returned Aqua's laugh, ruffling her hair a little, "Perhaps not exactly the way you suggested, but the basic idea is quite sound. After all, this castle is quite large... Between the three of us, we may be able to keep both Ventus and Vanitas occupied and observed well enough if we coordinate accordingly. In fact, it may just be a chance for the two of you to learn how to handle the responsibilities excepted of you in the future."

"What do you mean, Master?" asked Terra.

"Let me put it like this: There may be no need to let Vanitas 'sleep in', as Aqua suggested..."

* * *

Somebody knocked on his door that morning. It took him off-guard. He had still been dozing in bed and wasn't wearing a shirt yet, so he kicked the door and growled to signal the person to not dare and touch the door-knob. Then, he rushed to the pile he'd left his things in the previous night and scrambled to retrieve the required piece of clothing. He stopped for a moment when his eyes met with his left wrist. The bracelet Eraqus had forced him to wear glistened in the rays of the morning sun falling through the room's window. Even though it had been on his arm for weeks now, it still looked just as untarnished as on the day he'd received it.

 _'If it weren't for this, I wouldn't need to wear a shirt at all,'_ was the thought that crossed his mind.

He remembered the way he'd been before. How inhuman he'd looked...

Ventus' heart had been moving a lot as of late. The flashes Vanitas was getting were becoming clearer from day to day. Sometimes they could get quite disorienting. There had been quite a few times already when he'd seen phantom images of Aqua and Terra standing right in front of him, just to realize moments later, when he stretched out his hands trying to touch theirs, that the two of them weren't actually there. Those visions must have come from Ventus, he knew it. The emotions were getting clearer, too, and Vanitas had become quite sure that Ventus actually knew Aqua's and Terra's names by now. He could feel the other having more and more specific associations with each of their two companions with every passing day. Often times when one of the two visited Ventus, Vanitas would sense the other boy's strong comfort and happiness. It was quite annoying, actually. Sometimes he felt as if Ventus' emotions for Eraqus' students might be influencing his own. He kept trying to figure out for sure which feelings were which, but it was difficult. Sometimes it felt as if they were all his, sometimes it felt as if none of them could possibly be. He hated it.

Ever since he'd been living and training here, he'd interacted a lot with Aqua and Terra, and he knew for sure that he'd made his very own experiences with them. He did not want these memories to become ambiguous. No, Ventus better not _dare_ muddle them-

"Um, Vanitas?" Aqua's voice. The person in front of his door was her. "Excuse me, but you've been silent for a while. Are you okay? Can I come in?" she asked, her words dulled by the wooden door.

"I'm fine!" he yelled out. "And you can't!" Hastily, he pulled the shirt he'd just picked up over his head, then put on the jacket which was still on the floor. No use in brushing his hair. It was always messy, so nobody could tell the difference anyway. "Now you can! Open the door already!" he turned to the door, again yelling.

With a click, the door slowly swung open. Aqua stood in the frame, giving a greeting smile. "Good Morning."

"Mornin'." Vanitas slurred the word, sighing a little at the sight of Aqua's expression. All this energy... Why was this castle full of morning people anyway? Aqua seemed just as aware and lively as ever. In fact, she was so mindful of her surroundings that, for some reason, the sight of Vanitas' room gave her a strong reaction.

"Oh! You opened the curtains," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "It's a hassle to open and close them every day, and I can't find my stuff when everything's in shade, so I just left them..."

"You've decorated a little too," said Aqua, walking over to a shelf on the right side of the room. "I'm sure this one was empty the last time I came here."

"Decorated? It's just some stuff I picked up. I had to put it somewhere."

"It does bring some color in, though."

Aqua's eyes wandered along the shelf. She recognized most of the items. A shattered flower vase that broke during one of Vanitas' pranks, with all shards still inside. The wooden Keyblade Vanitas used in training. One half of a rock that had broken open during a especially intense sparring session between Terra and Vanitas, only to reveal an obsidian inside. The selection was quite eclectic, and aside from those three items, the room was still rather barren. Even so Aqua thought that it was all very fitting and smiled at the shelf.

"So... Any reason you're picking me up today?" Vanitas' voice sounded just the slightest bit annoyed. "I know where the throne hall is, you know. It's not like I'd just forget where to go overnight."

"Oh, um... We're not exercising in the throne hall today," said Aqua, taking her eyes off the broken obsidian.

"Hm?" Vanitas tilted his head at that.

"Just follow me, okay?" With those words, Aqua headed for the door, gesturing for Vanitas to come along.

* * *

The dining hall. That was where Aqua brought him. When they got there, the long table and all chairs had already been cleaned out of the room. She was really expecting him to train in the dining hall? No matter how he thought about it, Vanitas couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Did the two of you blow up the throne hall last night after I went to bed or something?"

Aqua laughed a little, "No, no, the hall is fine, don't worry."

"Then why are we training here today and not there?"

The fact that Aqua paused for a moment after his question did not soothe Vanitas' feelings of suspicion at all. It took the girl a whole three seconds to turn around and give him a smile that seemed far too overly chipper, even for her standards.

"It's just a little change of scenery. Everyone needs that every now or then, right?"

"But it's not like I was getting bored of the throne-hall, you know."

"Does it really make that much of a difference whether we train here or there?"

Something was off about Aqua today. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was definitely weird. Her smile, the way she just dismissed his question, instead of giving him an overly intricate answer... They were all very odd for her. It irked him.

"C'mon, Vanitas. Don't make that face. I think this is a great chance to practice some magic. We could try something with ice this time."

He found it very, very irritating, this way she kept dancing around the point. On a bad day, he'd have punched her in the face even for just suggesting that _he_ was the one acting odd here. However, the prospect of learning how to freeze things alive interested him enough to resist the urge. He positioned himself in Aqua's front, as the young mage began to explain the art of ice-elemental spells to her.

Some time passed as the temperature in the room dropped significantly. Eventually the two of them were able to see their own breaths condense before them. Aqua lit the hall's two fireplaces in hopes of alleviating the issue a little, but even that measure didn't last long. Just minutes later, the cold of a Blizzard spell from Vanitas' Keyblade extinguished the flames again.

"Brrr..." Aqua trembled, rubbing her hands on her arms in an attempt to warm up. "S-Slow down, please. You're overdoing it a little. When I said you needed to focus on 'cold' thoughts, I didn't mean-"

"Where's Terra?"

The question was sudden, taking Aqua off-guard. She even stopped shaking in her surprise. "W-What?" Aqua asked, her speech still impeded a bit by the cold air. "...Where did that come from?"

"You're not answering my question, Aqua," Vanitas was hissing a little. "Where is Terra? He's not the type to just miss morning exercises like this. And _you're_ not the type to just avoid the topic when you're asked something. Or at least I _thought_ you weren't."

There was an almost spiteful sense of disappointment in Vanitas' words, especially the last two sentences. Aqua bit her lip. It actually hurt to hear him talk like that. This wasn't what she'd wanted, definitely not. But how to address the topic without making it come across the wrong way to him?

"We're in a different room and Terra's not here. Neither is the old man. I'm guessing that means we've been split up for training today," Vanitas deduced, his eyes narrowed, his arms crossed. "Okay. Good. Whatever. But I don't get _why_ we're splitting up all of a sudden. What, the old geezer decided I was getting too much attention all of a sudden? Am I only entitled to one of you at a time now? C'mon, if it were anything less than that, you wouldn't just go clamming up about it, would you, Aqua!"

"You've got it wrong!" Aqua yelled, if only so he'd hear her over his own ranting. And it worked. Hearing Aqua's raised voice, Vanitas fell silent, if only long enough for Aqua to continue to speak. "The Master isn't trying to isolate you," she said, taking a deep breath. "We're just... trying to help you avoid Ventus for as long as possible, so neither of you will get hurt again."

Vanitas listened up. "...Ventus?"

Why was it that the name fell now, all of a sudden? Whatever the reason, it changed everything. The irritation and disappointment Vanitas had been feeling up to now disappeared, replaced by something else.

"He's been feeling better, you know," said Aqua.

"Y-Yeah," Vanitas shook his head a little. "I did know that."

"He's been wanting to leave his room."

"Wait. You say... he... _wanted_?"

That had to be mistake. After all, how could an emotion as powerful as a 'want' have ever slipped past Vanitas? He'd realized the changes in Ventus' condition, and yet he'd never sensed a 'desire' like what Aqua was describing coming from him. Or maybe he had? Maybe he'd been confusing it with one of his own desires...?

What was it that Vanitas himself was feeling now? Such a confusing sense of displacement and dissociation. Hearing Ventus' name spoken like that, declaring that Ventus had expressed a 'want', and was being given attention, the same kind of attention as Vanitas himself, but they had to be separated, kept apart... He wasn't even sure what these emotions could be called.

Right now, Ventus was with Terra. He was in the throne-hall - _their_ throne-hall - with Terra, and with Eraqus, taking part in _their_ morning exercises, being treated as one of _them_.

And Vanitas wasn't allowed to be there. He was here, with only one of them, only Aqua, because he was not permitted to be where Ventus was. Forbidden from being with Ventus. With _both_ of them.

Somewhere inside Vanitas, Unversed not allowed to manifest were squirming like a nest of parasites.

"Are you alright...?" Her voice, as careful and hesitant as it sounded, once more served as his anchor to reality. He decided to focus on it. Focusing on the thoughts swirling in his head would only have meant pain, and he was sick of pain. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away," Aqua said with a pang of guilt. "I wasn't sure how you'd react."

To that, Vanitas could only laugh wryly. "Well, now you know." Without looking at her, he shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. "To answer a very dumb question: No. I'm _not_ alright."

"I just don't know what I could have done to make this work," Aqua admitted and sighed. "Please, understand. We couldn't leave Ventus alone when he is ready to join us. And it was the Master's orders-"

 _'The Master's Orders'_. That was the point where Vanitas zoned out. Of course it was Eraqus, that old, self-righteous sack of crap. Of course, everyone listened to what Eraqus said, Eraqus' word was perfect, if Eraqus said so, the sky was green and the grass purple- Vanitas needed to stop himself. The nails of his fingers were digging into his arms. Any further and he'd draw blood. These were by far the most intense emotions he had experienced in a good while. It was terrible. Why was he back here again? Back, in this position? It was Ventus' fault, it had to be...

Vanitas was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw, that it was Aqua's hand. Why had she put it there?

"We're not trying to lock you out. You know, that right?"

He stayed silent, mostly as to not disrupt the sound of her voice. Something about it was deeply soothing. Aqua tended to have that effect on him. The things she said would stop his derailing thoughts and lead them elsewhere, into a direction he didn't even know existed. Sometimes it felt downright nostalgic.

"Do you still want to train?"

Train? Train what? Freezing this entire room into a glacier that would last for the next hundred years? The way he felt right now, doing anything whatsoever with his Keyblade would only result in everything that was inside this hall breaking into a million pieces, and as tempting as that mental image seemed to him, one of the things in this room right now was Aqua. He still needed to hear her voice.

Silently, he shook his head.

"What do you want to do then? I'm still going to stay with you until noon if you want me to."

What did _he_ want? Such a strange thing to be asked. A strange thing to imagine, that someone like Aqua would actually care about, even want to aid with the desires of someone like him. Part of him couldn't quite take the question seriously. And yet, the idea of having his whims fulfilled by someone else, without having to work or suffer for it seemed so wonderful and tempting. So, what was it that he wanted to do? He let the words just come out of his mouth without paying much thought to them.

"I... I want to see Ventus."

* * *

They stood behind a window overlooking the throne-hall from above, hidden by the glare of light that the harsh midday sun cast onto the glass. Silent and unnoticed, Aqua and Vanitas observed as Master Eraqus instructed Terra in the evasion and countering of complex maneuvers. Just a few meters away from their training, seated on the smallest of the three thrones, there was Ventus, quietly watching Terra's wooden blade and Eraqus' Keyblade clash and lock, again and again. Vanitas almost wanted to scoff at the sight. So that was what he'd been excluded from training for? Just so that this glorified mannequin could sit by idly like the piece of furniture he was? Where was that great 'desire' to move around of his own will that Aqua had told Vanitas about?

His hand pressed firmly against the pane of glass which separated him and Aqua from the scene in the throne-hall, Vanitas found it harder and harder to let his eyes off Ventus, and eventually, he stopped watching Terra and Eraqus train entirely. As barely impressed he was by Ventus' non-participation in the morning exercises, the fact remained that he was here, just as Aqua had said he would be, and that he was down there, in the hall, with Terra, while Vanitas was not. What would it be like, to be down there, with them? He could only wonder. If he could stand there, right in Ventus' front, what would he do? Would he lose his temper again and try to kill Ventus, like he'd done before? Maybe it was because of the glass between them, but right now, that wasn't the way Vanitas felt.

He felt as if he was being drawn down there, down into that hall, to where Terra and Ventus were. Just so he could cross blades with Terra and quip with him, as he liked to. Just he could know what it would feel like to stand right in front of Ventus, the way the two of them were now.

It felt as if a long time had passed when Aqua broke the silence. "What was he like?" she asked. "I mean, Ventus... Before he became like this."

What a pointless question, Vanitas found himself thinking, but at least it was a question that he'd fully expected Aqua to ask at one point or another. It was just like here. And just as pointless as that question was, just as pointless it would have been to upset her and make her ask even more questions by not answering this first one. Vanitas drew a breath and turned ever so slightly, just enough to observe Aqua from the corner of his eye as he spoke.

"He was... shy, mostly." Closing his eyes, Vanitas tried to recall the memories. "He'd stutter a lot whenever he was with people, never quite sure what to say. It was pretty pathetic, really. He couldn't talk to people and usually ended up on his own, frustrated and lonely. And yet there were people who had big expectations in him. Day in and day out, he'd be terrified, waiting for the moment he'd disappoint them. Because he knew it was coming."

"That sounds pretty sad."

"Sad?" Now that he heard Aqua say it, something didn't seem right about that. He had retold what he remembered, just the way he saw it. But was that really what the Ventus, whom his memories came from, had been like? "No..." Vanitas mumbled, more to himself than to Aqua. "He wasn't sad. The Ventus I remember... smiled a lot. And he laughed. He'd look forward to every new day."

Right. Those were part of his memories too. So why didn't these things come to him first when Aqua asked?

"So he took his own doubts and fears in a stride, and kept facing forward." Aqua guessed and Vanitas noticed that she began to smile a little. "That's wonderful. It sounds like he is the kind of person who'd shine brightly, even in the darkest hours."

" 'Shine brightly', huh?" Vanitas' eyes remained trained on Ventus. Was that really what he... what _they_ had been like? A bright light, opposing the encroaching dark? Right now, all he could see in the smiles of the Ventus in his memories were fragile delusions, false hope for a future that would never come. But, just for a minute, Aqua's words made Vanitas consider that his viewpoint might be flawed in some way, and that there might have been something else to it, something he just couldn't remember.

That thought frustrated him. But just a little bit.

"I hope Ventus will be back to the way he used to be soon," said Aqua, standing by Vanitas side. "I can't wait until the four of us can all speak to each other."

"The four of you...?" Vanitas mumbled, wondering what could be so exciting about Eraqus speaking to people much younger than him.

But Aqua laughed, "No, the four of ' _us_ '. You're included too, you know."

Vanitas' breathing stocked for a moment. He finally took his eyes entirely off Ventus, and looked at Aqua's face. It didn't matter who she claimed was 'shining brightly', right now, she was the one who seemed strangely radiant to him.

* * *

He found the idea of Aqua and Terra taking turns with 'babysitting' him and Ventus alternately stupid. Either they'd both train with him at the same time, or they just wouldn't at all. He told them that, much to Terra's groaning and Aqua's sighing.

"Hmm... We'll have to let the Master know that this isn't working then, I guess."

"Well, Ventus won't be able to watch all of our training and sparring sessions yet anyway. It would be too exhausting for him," Terra, massaging his temples, reckoned. "So, I guess we can probably go with your original plan, Aqua. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I think so," Aqua nodded. "If the Master agrees to going back to that, that is."

As much as Vanitas despised how much of their lives' control Aqua and Terra were leaving up to Eraqus, just hours later he had to admit that he was quite pleasantly surprised to learn that Eraqus had accepted the change in plans Aqua and Terra asked for on Vanitas' behalf, and that without as much as an objection according to them. "The only reason he wanted us to split up in the first place was so neither of you would be left out at any time," claimed Aqua, but Vanitas wasn't too sure if he believed that. Still, this was a turn of events he could somewhat accept, even if he still preferred the idea of being able to train and do battle with Aqua and Terra whenever he wanted to.

It didn't take two days into the new arrangement for Vanitas to find spending mornings or afternoons on his own, while Aqua and Terra let Ventus observe their training, to be incredibly dull. Now, while Eraqus had repeatedly made himself clear about how Vanitas was to stay as far from Ventus as possible, Vanitas couldn't say he especially cared. They say, _'what the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over'_ , and Vanitas had already disregarded Eraqus' prohibitions twice before, and both times under the watch of his honor student no less. So it came that Vanitas made a habit of hiding up in the trees close to their usual training grounds, watching as Aqua and Terra sparred, on days when he wasn't allowed to join them.

Today was such a day.

Wooden Keyblades in their hands, Aqua and Terra ran and slid through the grass, trying to one-up each other's technique the best they could. It was almost as if they were showing off to the one, silent observer they knew was there. A small bird was sitting by Ventus' feet, picking the ground. After a while, it jumped onto his foot, then flew up and landed on his shoulder. Ventus showed not a hint of a reaction. This was one of those many times when Terra and Aqua realized just how unaware the boy really was of what was happening around him, and they stopped their battle, worriedly exchanging glances about it.

Meanwhile, Vanitas was gnawing away on a small bowl of walnuts up in his hiding place. No matter how many times he saw the two Keyblade Wielders interrupt training just to stare at Ventus for a bit, it never ceased to seem at least a little bit ridiculous to him. Obviously, it didn't matter what they would try to ask Ventus, or what kind of small-talk they would try to make with him. Ventus would never answer. They should have accepted this fact by now. Vanitas knew that both of them were smart enough to realize as much. And yet he still couldn't help feeling just a bit curious as what useless idea they would use to attempt bringing Ventus out of his perpetual stupor today. The amusement of watching them try the impossible somewhat helped him suppress his need to just leap down there and unload his frustration at them.

"Hey, Ventus!" Terra yelled, causing the bird to take off and leave. Ventus moved his head a little, looking over to the older boy, who was now walking towards him.

"Just a moment!" Aqua hurried over to Ventus' bench, where she picked up a basket resting close to Ventus' feet. She smiled at the boy. "Surprise! Look here!"

Aqua pulled a small cupcake out of the basket.

"I added an extra serving of nuts and wild almonds today!"

"-Finally something edible!" Terra said and snatched the cupcake from Aqua.

Vanitas observed the scene, a bit envious when he saw Terra taking his first bite out of the treat. Suddenly, his own bowl of raw nuts seemed so much less interesting. She'd better have made enough to leave some for him...

Down by the bench Aqua was handing out another cupcake to a still unresponsive Ventus, urging him to eat, all the while Terra gobbled up his portion in seconds. Then Terra began to tease Aqua about her baking skills again, which at this point, Vanitas thought, was a quite predictable thing for him to do. The two of them would go on to bicker for a while, until Terra, wisely, decided to change the topic.

"The Master said the other day we should try to gradually integrate Ventus into our activities more," said Terra with a sigh, wiping off his mouth as he finished his cupcake.

"Does that mean we should train with him?" Aqua seemed a bit uneasy even just suggesting that.

"Well, there's no harm in trying, right?"

Vanitas listened up at that. Train? With Ventus? His eyes wandered to the boy again. As always, Ventus was busy penetrating the air with his dull gaze. Whatever made Terra think that this human rag-doll was ready to 'train'?

Terra picked up his wooden Keyblade from the bench and handed it over to Ventus. For a short while, the boy just stared at the weapon before he took it into his hand and stood up from his bench.

Vanitas shivered a little. He could feel it. A sense of tension, both mental and physical. Ventus' mind was actually preparing for combat. Was he really going to fight? There was just no way...

As Ventus positioned himself, he gripped onto the weapon's handle in a way that caused the teeth to point behind his back and his stance to be broad and ready to support the balance-changes that come with rapid movement of the upper body. Reverse Grip. Now, why the hell Ventus was using this style out in an open field like this, Vanitas had no idea. Maybe he was just not lucid enough to realize at how much of a tactical disadvantage it put him. Then again, what use was it thinking about practicalities like that, when it was entirely clear that letting Ventus touch a weapon in any sort of way in his state was nothing short of idiotic to start with?

"Uhm, I don't quite think that's how you hold it, but... alright! Let's try!"

Terra adopted his own battle-stance in front of Ventus, as Aqua watched over carefully. Her attention wavered a little, when she heard a dull sound from behind their group and, to her confusion, she spotted a small wooden bowl and a cluster of walnuts spilled out on the ground underneath a nearby apple tree.

Vanitas didn't care that his snacks were gone and his hiding place had been compromised. This entire situation was far more nuts than the few he'd just dropped. What in the world did Terra think he was doing? Was Ventus actually going to fight? Moving his own body, of his own accord?

Ventus and Terra were in position. Vanitas felt a sense of excitement that he knew wasn't his own. It was as if he could physically sense Ventus' heart-rate rise by the moment. The other was getting ready to kick off the soil, every second now. Just for this moment, Ventus seemed so sharp, so alert, it was as if he actually could tell what was happening around him, as if the haze in his senses had finally cleared.

But then Terra raised his blade.

Time seemed to halt that second. A perfect freeze-frame of Terra's image, as Ventus saw it. Vanitas could see it too. A Keyblade. Pointed directly at his chest. At his _heart_.

 _Again_.

Who was thinking these thoughts right now? Where or which of them was he? He didn't know. But he was scared. Terrified. He didn't want this to happen again. _He didn't want to suffer like that again, alone and broken, falling apart, silently screaming for help, waiting for a saving light. No, never again, no more-_

A sound like the air itself being shattered rang out. Terra didn't know what had happened or when, but before he could carry out his strike, he found himself knocked off balance. His Keyblade had been flung against rock and shattered, disappearing in a rain of light. Now he was on the floor, unarmed and struggling to grasp what was going on.

"Terra! ... V-Ventus!"

Aqua didn't know where to turn to first. Just a few meters in front of the disarmed Terra, there was Ventus, also on the ground, shaking and breathing heavily. Why had Ventus fallen? Terra had never touched him, Aqua was sure. And then there was the figure that had appeared between them, somebody who was standing in-between Terra and Ventus now, a Keyblade held in his right hand, stretched out as if to block the way between the two of them.

The way Vanitas was facing Terra right now, it almost looked as if he was _shielding_ Ventus.

" _Never..._ " Vanitas gasped and growled, short of breath. He was coldly glaring at Terra. "Never point _that thing_ at him like that!"

Neither Aqua, nor Terra knew what to say. The scene was plunged into a deep, awkward silence and confusion.

It was the sound of something rustling behind him that finally got Vanitas to allow his Keyblade arm to drop, and he turned to see what was happening. Ventus had stopped his whimpering and his shaking. Instead, the boy was now trying to set his feet firmly onto the floor and to stand up, even though his balance was shaky and his motions seemed weak. And yet, he did it. It took him a few seconds, but he calmed down and he got back up, without any help, without even anything to hold on to. And then he bent to pick up the wooden Keyblade by his feet.

Now, Ventus was standing in front of Vanitas, his eyes still as dull and leaden as ever, but he was standing, of his own power. Ventus had _chosen_ to stand.

He looked at Vanitas for a while, quietly and with his usual, blank expression, without flinching, without showing even a hint of fear of him. And then, Ventus raised and lowered his head a bit in a fashion that Vanitas could have sworn was supposed to be a nod.


	8. Ideasthesia

It took a bit for Terra and Aqua to grasp what had happened in those past minutes.

In the midst of training for which he should not have been present, Vanitas had disarmed Terra. But why had he disarmed Terra? Aqua found an answer when she saw Ventus on the floor. He'd stumbled forwards, his stomach, rather than his back, facing the ground. If he'd lost balance because of Vanitas' sudden attack, he'd have fallen the other way, with his back facing the ground. So Ventus must have fallen for another reason.

"Ventus is afraid of the Keyblade, isn't he?" asked Aqua.

Vanitas remained silent. It wasn't that he couldn't or didn't want to answer Aqua's question. Right now, he was just confused. His own actions and emotions, they were all in disarray, even more than was usual for him. He tried to grasp onto the pieces and put them into order, but doing so he kept coming across an obstacle, a little fact of his life which was called 'Ventus'. It made making sense of all these things around him so much more difficult.

Just for a moment, Vanitas had forgotten that he himself existed. His self-awareness gone entirely, his point of view had become Ventus', and his actions had become defined by Ventus' emotions and situation. But why exactly had these emotions and that situation seemed so urgent to him there and then? Now that he was himself again, he couldn't grasp the answer anymore. All Vanitas knew was that this brief moment without a sense of 'self', that split-second when Ventus' reality seemed to be his own, had been terrifying and yet also incredibly alluring to him.

It made no sense. All that state had made him feel was Ventus' mortal fear. His pain. So why did Vanitas not regret losing himself in that moment? Why did he almost find himself _missing_ the sensation of it right now? He hated his own lack of regret deeply.

Observing how Vanitas' eyes seemed to be firmly locked onto the ground, Terra sighed and turned to another friend, "Aqua, I think they're both still out of it."

Aqua looked over the scene. "You're right. I should probably wait with asking questions..." Right now the four of them were gathered by a cliff a little outside the castle walls. Terra had moved a few rocks to serve as benches for them to sit on. He and Aqua had both agreed that going back inside the castle now and getting the Master involved in what had happened would probably not be a good idea. First the twins had to calm down a little. It was still normal for Ventus to be a little unsteady on his feet of course, but this was different. There was something resembling a genuine expression on the boy's face, almost as if he were puzzled or surprised by something. And as for Vanitas, while they were plenty familiar with the boy's tantrums, neither Aqua nor Terra had ever seen him seem so paralyzed before. It was a bit unsettling.

A while passed with both, Ventus and Vanitas, silently sitting on their respective rocks. Aqua and Terra gazed out to the horizon, lost in thought. Finally Terra spoke. "Hey... You think it was wrong of me to try and make Ventus train with us already?"

"You were just following the Master's suggestions," said Aqua.

Terra shook his head, "All the Master said was to involve Ventus a bit more in what we're doing. He never said anything about wielding the Keyblade. I... I really should have thought this through better."

"Terra..."

"I think you were right, Aqua. I mean, I already knew that whatever the two of them went through happened during their training. It really must have scared Ventus when I dragged him into this so suddenly. If I ever want to be a Master, I can't be that impulsive...!"

"Oh, quit your whining..." It wasn't Aqua who replied this to Terra, but another voice who'd finally joined the conversation. One of the boys had raised his head a little and was now sitting in a somewhat more relaxed position than before, his arms crossed, but his gaze still focused on the floor.

"Vanitas, are you okay?" Aqua tried to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but he pulled away.

"This wasn't just Terra's doing," Vanitas mumbled. "Ventus _wanted_ to fight. He took his stance and got ready. That was his own decision. If he can't take having a Keyblade raised against him yet that's all on him."

"But you still tried to protect your brother," Aqua said. "Right?"

Vanitas, however, scoffed and turned his head away. "Yeah, right. You don't get it."

"What don't we get?"

"You figure it out. No point in trying to explain."

"Hm?"

There really was no point, and they wouldn't just 'figure it out' either. This was something not even Vanitas himself really understood. But then again, what _did_ he understand? Sometimes he really had to wonder. In that short moment when he didn't seem to exist, emotions didn't seem to be half as complicated. Maybe that meant that Ventus had all the answers Vanitas didn't have, but even if that was so, Vanitas would have had no way of knowing. He only somewhat knew what Ventus felt, but not what he was thinking. If he _was_ thinking at all, that was. Even with his fashionable, new expression of slight bewilderment, Ventus' eyes were as vacant and non-communicative as ever. Vanitas was looking at him now. Ventus sat right next to him, only a few inches away, yet he showed no signs of fear or backing away. Was it because he didn't realize that Vanitas was there? That couldn't be it. Their eyes had met earlier on the training grounds. No, Ventus definitely knew that Vanitas was here, right next to him. But despite that, he showed no fear. Vanitas wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe Ventus had forgotten about him or didn't realize who he was anymore? Or was it that Ventus had just stopped being afraid? Would that mean that Ventus had become stronger, perhaps?

...What was he even thinking? Vanitas couldn't understand his own train of thoughts. It frustrated him. His emotions were no better. It felt comforting to sit close to Ventus without being rejected, but it felt mortifying to sit close to him without being recognized. It was empowering to know that Ventus would have been helpless without him, but it was disgusting to know how helpless Ventus really was, and how that helplessness had dragged him right into Ventus' fear and pain once more. At very least Vanitas could be sure that all of these specific feeling were his own and not Ventus'. Now if only they made sense.

"In any case, it looks like the Master was wrong about Vanitas being the reason that Ventus collapsed in the first place," he heard Aqua tell Terra. "If anything, I'd say him stepping in was what stopped us from hurting Ventus on accident."

"You think it was a coincidence last time then?"

"I don't actually know... But maybe something changed?" Aqua raised her head a little, as if something had come to her, then she turned her head towards the younger boys. "Ah, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be talking as if the two of you weren't here."

Vanitas looked up at Aqua, his arms in his lap, but he didn't say anything. His mind had quickly latched onto what she had said. ' _Something changed_ '. So he wasn't the only one who realized? Something about Ventus was different now than from how he'd been they last time they met. No doubt. But just what kind of 'difference' was it? Quietly, Vanitas' turned to look at Ventus again, making one more weak attempt to read what might be going on beyond the other boy's dull blue eyes.

* * *

 _"There, you see? An empty world, like a prison. I imagine you will be right at home."_

He didn't understand. Anything. At all.

It wasn't dark and it wasn't bright. He was floating, somewhere in the middle of nothing at all. He didn't know what the lack of weight or warmth meant. And he didn't know who he was. He used to be something, someone, he knew that. He'd been a whole, a heart, a person who'd laughed and cried and known mortal fear. But right now, everything was broken. He was shattered. Just a pile of fragments, desperately trying to piece themselves together like a puzzle with missing pieces. The trails of his passed emotions broke off halfway through, and the chains of his memories went nowhere. A voice that had once been with him wherever he went was gone now. Erased, like pages of a book stained with water. He couldn't remember whether that voice had been kind or cruel. But it was somehow lonely without it. Just what was going to happen to him now, weak pile of fragments that he was? It felt as if his own emotions where leaving him, tiny fireflies, scattering into the darkness. Soon there would be nothing left that mattered anymore.

That was when he heard a new voice. A small voice, tiny, so tiny that a normal person would never have heard it. But being tiny and fragmented himself, he felt the voice, cuddling up closely to him, embracing him like a child would embrace a broken but beloved doll. The voice was crying for him, or so it felt.

 _"You should join your heart with mine."_ The voice would tell him and bath him in a radiance far more innocent than anything familiar to him. _"Now our hearts have touched. Nothing else will slip away."_

And just like that, his loneliness lessened a little. The voice's light was warm and pure, like the clean, fluffy sheets on a newly made bed, or the scent of freshly baked bread. Nostalgic and inviting, in all its unfamiliarity. It had no color and felt as if no darkness had ever touched it before. At least not yet. But it also didn't feel as if this light would protect him from the dark forever.

 _"One day, you'll be strong enough to win back the part that already did."_

It was frightening to hear those words. Wouldn't it mean fighting? Wouldn't it mean being hurt again and being in pain again? He didn't like that. Much rather, he'd just stay here and sleep, until he could forget that there was anything he was missing. Of course, he knew it wasn't that easy. The light the voice had shared with him wasn't his own. It wouldn't be fair to keep it to himself forever, even if it was so much more comforting than the thought of regaining what had broken away from him. He was already very thankful that the voice had found him in the first place. As scared as he was of being hurt again, he wouldn't have wanted to just fade away either.

 _"It's time to wake up now."_ The voice nudged him a little. _"All we need to do is..."_

He knew what it meant and nodded, "Open the door."

He stepped outside, into a world much too wide and colorful for his little, fractured heart to understand, and so he ended up seeing not much else but the blindly pure white of the light the voice had left him with.

There was another voice as soon as he woke up. But this one was very different from the one he was missing or the one that had saved him. It seemed as distant as it seemed familiar, as compelling as it seemed cold. He didn't understand this voice. It felt foreign to him, as if it were speaking a different language entirely. He couldn't reply to that meaningless voice, so instead he stretched out his hand. In his hands, there was a key. He didn't know what that key was called. He couldn't even understand what it was meant for. Still, he felt a little safer as long as he felt that key in his palm. He kept looking at it for a short while, mesmerized by its soothing, green glow, painted on the pristine white canvas of his borrowed light.

The distantly familiar voice was dark red, like the color of burnt flesh mixed with blood. Its hue had a certain pull, giving a sense of direction. He followed it, because it was the only direction he had. It felt familiar to do so. Perhaps that was a good thing. It was somewhere to go at least. At the end of the path trailing behind the dark red voice, everything else seemed to darken a little as well. He didn't understand why that was and it frightened him. That was when he saw it. It was dark, so dark that it had no color. There was something else still about that figure. Its non-color seemed so familiar to him. As if he'd known it for a long, long time. Fascinating, but also frightening.

 _'Do you have a voice?'_ he asked the figure, realizing how silent it was. And silent it would stay.

 _'Do you have a voice?'_ he asked again, and this time the figure, shape- and formless as it appeared, lunged at him and wrapped all around him, dragging him down to the ground and beyond. It was a feeling he seemed to recognized, and it felt like sinking into fear itself. Like being quietly whispered to, about the things he feared, the things he hated, the people he'd lost and those that had left him... What a terrible, terrible voice that figure had. He feared it, wanted nothing to do with it. He felt as if it was going to devour, drown and extinguish him until he'd fade away and nothing would be left. Cruel words, ripping away the pristine, innocent light he'd been lent. He couldn't bear to see or hear this terrible voice any longer. And so he screamed. The dark voice tore away from him and faded into the distance.

Two new voices appeared before him. One sounded blue, like flowing water, the other red, like the color of fine desert sand. The sand-colored voice seemed to be saying something to him.

 _"I'm Terra. What's your name?"_

He bent down to pick up something from within the links of his memories strewn around him, until he found the word he needed.

"Ventus."

That meant 'him'. A word that described him, his voice, his color and his heart. It felt like a good thing to let someone else know.

 _"Hi, I'm Aqua."_ The blue voice drew closer to him.

"Terra... Aqua..." he repeated what the two had called themselves by, putting words to their colors.

The sand-colored voice started to ask him odd questions. They barely even seemed to be making sense. Still, part of him felt as if he was supposed to be able to reply, so he bent down to pick the answers up from the links strewn around him again. But as much as he tried to search his heart and mind, he couldn't find the words he was searching for. The pieces were missing, their spots filled with nothing but borrowed light. _'I don't know,'_ he tried to answer, but the sand-colored voice wouldn't relent, and the questions kept coming and coming. The more he failed to understand, the more he realized that everything around him was wrong. This world, these figures, their voices, the smells, everything. Didn't they all use to be different? Why weren't they the same anymore? Was it because the voice that used to always be by his side had gone missing? Did that voice take the answers he was searching for with it? He was scared, so scared that he screamed again. And then he ran, retreating somewhere into the radiance of the borrowed light, where he felt safe.

How long did he spend curled up in the warm glow of the borrowed light? Though it was pleasant and comforting to be surrounded by nothing but its warm, pure white rays, as soon as he found himself wondering about time curious thoughts began to fill his mind. He asked himself when he'd last seen the sky, and what it would be like to see it again. What color was the sky right now? And what colors were the voices that had tried to speak to him? Were they still the same, or would their shades have changed by the next time he would see them again? Perhaps it would be just like how the world itself had changed on him from one day to the other. But maybe those changes weren't all bad? Maybe, if he just listened to the sand-colored voice one more time, he'd find the answers to its questions, and it would show him new, beautiful things. There wasn't much for him to see or hear or smell or taste or feel within this light. It was comforting and safe, but that was all. He vaguely felt as if the world had so much more color to offer than this just dazzling purity.

He took a step through that door and opened his eyes once more. There they were, the blue and the sandy red, close to him, speaking words in bright, vivid hues. The figures would approach him, and though he felt intimidated by their closeness and size at first, the kindness and color of their touches invited him. He nudged himself a little further outside the door. The world grew ever more enticing and colorful. They would offer him the greatest sweetness, dyed like the joy of running across a field of flowers, and then they would care for him with words that soothed him like the most fantastic stories, even though he did not really understand what they meant. It was wonderful whenever those two voices, those two colors were close to him, and he began to take a better look at them. He began to see the colors of their figures take shape, and faces emerged. Very soon he found himself able to put names to those faces. Aqua and Terra. Of course. What else would they be? It seemed so natural, so clear as day, that those two faces, with all their sounds and colors and shapes could only be called Aqua and Terra. How could he ever not have known that?

Somewhere in the distance, muffled by the rays of the borrowed light, he heard a familiar, dark voice whisper what sounded like curses, but he didn't understand what it said. A part of him was aware that this voice was watching him from afar, day after day, yet it never approached. It intrigued him, both in an enticing and in a frightening way. All at once he wanted both to know and to not know what that voice was.

The days passed by, the sky changed color many times. The world seemed dyed in so many different hues now, so much more meaningful than the transparent brightness of the borrowed light or the colorless darkness of that voice he sometimes heard far away. The most colorful time was when they where there. The deep blue 'Aqua' and the sandy-red 'Terra'. They'd paint the walls and floor and ceiling around him with their motions, their words, their smiles and their laughter. This silent, pure place he was in, became a prism of beautiful hues whenever they were here, and his heart bathed in those colors.

One day Aqua came to him with someone else. It wasn't Terra, and it wasn't the ivory colored figure and voice that would sometimes accompany the two of them either. Curious, he came closer. Just what was this new presence, this figure he hadn't seen before? Or, wait, maybe he _had_ seen it before? Right, now he recognized it. What stood before him was a colorless, dark figure. The owner of that terrifying voice which had wanted to shallow him whole. Timidly he hid himself behind Aqua. If he were to look at this colorless darkness, he thought, it would surely devour him and he would disappear. Or would it? Now that he took another look, something seemed quite different about the figure. It didn't seem quite as dull and undefined. In fact, its shape and form reminded him of something very specific and very important to him, though he couldn't put a word or name to it.

 _'Who are you?'_ He wondered, gazing upon the figure in wonder.

 _"Can't you tell?"_ asked Aqua. _"That's your brother, your twin."_

'Brother'? 'Twin'? Those words had neither color, nor shape. They meant absolutely nothing to him. And yet, the way Aqua spoke them made it feel as if they were supposed to become meaningful to him. Of course he trusted Aqua. So perhaps he had been all wrong about this voice being cruel and terrible? Looking yet closer at it, he could see a color after all, one he'd never noticed before. It was still dark like the deepest night, but a color all the same, similar to a starless sky surrounding the crescent moon. A frightening color, and yet he found that it did not repulse him at all.

 _'Are you happy?'_ he now heard the dark voice ask him in its familiar whisper.

 _'I am. Because Aqua is here.'_ he replied.

 _'What does that mean?'_ asked the voice.

 _'That I am happy.'_ he told it.

 _'That means nothing, and is worthless, and so are you.'_

How nostalgic this exchange felt. As if it'd had taken place countless times in the past already. It made him shudder for a moment.

 _'Why would you say that?'_ He carefully asked the voice, before he felt the memory of a dark blue color inside him. _'Are you sad?'_

 _'I am. Because I am here.'_ The voice replied to him almost immediately. He felt sympathy for those words. Was there a way to help this sadness?

 _'Would you be happier if you weren't there?'_ He asked the voice.

 _'I would rather be where you are.'_ It replied.

That seemed to make sense to him. It felt right, actually, like the most logical thing in the world. And so he stretched out his hand towards the figure and said, _'Then let's go together.'_

Barely were those words spoken, the dark figure at once leaped at him, clinging to his hand. Then his arm, then his shoulder. It had lost shape once more, and its darkness all around him, engulfing him entirely, and dragging him down into an abyss. Once again, he was being swallowed. And so, he screamed, terrified and trying to push the dark away. Then he ran, retreating somewhere into the radiance of the borrowed light, where he felt safe. There he cried, because he was afraid and because he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the sadness of that familiar, terrible voice.

After a long time he was all cried out and finally began to wonder just how many times the sky's color must have changed again while he had been hidden away here within the brightest light. The pure white had made him forget about time for a while, but now he found himself missing colors again. Aqua's color,Terra's color and the colors of the sky, even its darker hues. One time, somewhere far, far away, he faintly heard a voice much like his own, laughing. It made him curious. He wanted to go outside and see what color that laughter might be. But if he were to step outside, he'd surely get hurt again...

 _'Even so, being inside here is lonely,'_ he told himself. _'I don't want to be hurt, but loneliness is worse than the pain. I need a voice to give me colors. I can't live with brightness alone.'_

And so, the boy took all the courage he had and stepped outside the borrowed light's protection one more time. Aqua and Terra were there, and so was the ivory man whom they called 'Master'. They were smiling at him within their colorful world. He wanted to smile back at them. That was when he realized that his words did not seem to quite reach them, much like how many of their words seemed to not quite reach him. How strange. Why would Aqua and Terra not understand him? They were his friends after all, the voices that guided him through this colorful world. Maybe he needed to speak a little louder, smile wider, walk further? It couldn't hurt to try, he supposed. And so he followed Terra, then Aqua, then the man who was their Master. _'Let's do something together.'_ He meant to say, and it seemed they understood. They took him to places where their voices were louder, more excited and more colorful than ever. He loved it. He heard them talk about the keys they all held, about being Masters, and about training hard to reach a very important dream. All of these things seemed very familiar to him. Of course they were. If Aqua and Terra spoke about it so naturally, clearly it was natural to him too. They were always together, after all.

But if they were the same, how come that it were always only Aqua, Terra and the Master who seemed to wield the Keyblade and fight? How come he never joined? That seemed wrong. He was supposed to be the same as them and share the same excitement. Excluding himself from them like that, it almost felt as if he could hear a mocking voice whisper insulting words into his ear, somewhere far, far away. More and more he wished to participate in what they were doing, even though he was a little afraid of what it would mean to 'fight'. The want to make things right, make them as he felt they belonged, was much stronger than his fear. And so, when Terra gave him a key to use, he did not hesitate. His heart fluttered as he picked it up, felt its color and prepared to do battle with the fellow Keyblade Wielder, just like his sharpened instincts told him to.

But then Terra raised his blade.

Time seemed to halt that second. A perfect freeze-frame of Terra's image, as Ventus saw it. Vanitas could see it too. A Keyblade. Pointed directly at his chest. At his _heart_.

 _Again_.

Something touched his heart that moment. A dark color, carrying a fear much deeper than all he thought he knew. Who was thinking these thoughts right now? Where or which of them was he? He didn't know. But he was scared. Terrified. He didn't want this to happen again. _He didn't want to suffer like that again, alone and broken, falling apart, silently screaming for help, waiting for a saving light. No, never again, no more-_

A sound like the air itself being shattered rang out. That moment Ventus saw something impossible. An image of himself, pushing away the key that was coming down onto him. Refusing to be shattered, refusing to submit to that fate. An image of a 'him' who would not rather die than stand up and fight. That image wasn't bright, in fact its color was one of the darkest he knew, and yet it seemed to be protecting him, shattering the memory and the pain that had threatened to overwhelm him that moment. The illusion broke, and at once Ventus could see again. What he'd thought to be a cruel figure trying to rip him apart turned back into Terra, who he knew would never hurt him. How could he ever have mistaken Terra for something that wanted to bring harm to him? And as for the image of himself that he'd seen, Ventus identified that figure as well, and was shocked. Wasn't this the dark figure, the sad voice that had tried to devour and extinguish him? No, wait, something was different. The last time he had seen that figure it had been the color of the night sky around the crescent moon. Now, however, its shade seemed different. As if the moon illuminating that starless sky had grown full in the meantime. What a strange, strange color it was.

Ventus felt shame. He had mistaken Terra for something terrible and been so afraid that he almost ran away and retreaded into the light again. But that image of himself had stopped him, and destroyed the illusion before he could make such a bad mistake. The dark figure had helped him. _'Thank you.'_ He tried to tell it, hoping that his words would reach. If it hadn't been for the figure, he'd have run away from Terra, just because he was afraid of an illusion. But why had the figure helped him? Hadn't it always been trying to devour and erase him before? Maybe that had all just been an illusion as well? Maybe the colorless darkness he'd seen this figure and voice in before hadn't been real either? Now that he thought about it, the dark figure's voice had always seemed so familiar to him. But, yes, of course, how hadn't he realized that before? It was the same voice as the one he'd known before, wasn't it? That voice that had always been by his side, for as long as he could think!

But who was that voice? Who was that strange color that scared but also protected him?

 _"Vanitas, are you okay?"_ He heard Aqua's voice say to the figure close by. 'Vanitas'? Was this the name? He listened closer. _"You still tried to protect your brother, right?"_ He heard her say. 'Brother'. Right, that was it. He'd heard that before. That was who that voice was, why it had always been with him, right? It made sense because Aqua had said it.

Ventus felt shame, because he'd been afraid of someone who had been always been with him. He needed to thank that person more, make up for how cowardly he'd been.

* * *

"In any case, it looks like the Master was wrong about Vanitas being the reason that Ventus collapsed in the first place," Aqua told Terra. "If anything, I'd say him stepping in was what stopped us from hurting Ventus on accident."

"You think it was a coincidence last time then?" asked Terra.

"I don't actually know... But maybe something changed?" Aqua raised her head a little, as if something had come to her, then she turned her head towards the younger boys. "Ah, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be talking as if the two of you weren't here."

Vanitas looked up at Aqua for a moment, then glanced over at Ventus. After a while of silence he spoke.

"No need to treat us with silk-gloves, y'know," he mumbled at her. "I'd rather know what you say about me than have the two of you talk behind my back. And as for Ventus... Well, it's not like he actually understood anything we say in the first-"

Vanitas stopped. While he'd still been talking Ventus had raised his head a little. Now the blond boy was looking, no, _smiling_ , at him. Vanitas' breath stocked for a moment.

" _Th... Th..._ " Ventus was trying to say something, but even the first sound seemed to be giving him trouble. Still, he did not give up, and after a few seconds, he managed to pronounce the words that were on his mind. "Thank you... Van..."

Ventus kept a shaky, but sincere smile on his face as his dull eyes remained locked onto the dead-silent Vanitas for a while longer. It was a silence more colorful with emotions than there had probably ever been in any world before.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _Wheeew. It's kinda cool how I am able to update this even while working a stable job 30 hours a week. I guess I just find this story pretty easy to write for, mostly because I've been developing it my head for the better part of a decade now, so the scenes come to me pretty naturally. Doesn't mean I don't still put them through rigorous rewrites again and again, of course._

 _Laugh at me if you want, but I got the idea for the title and theme of this chapter while watching 'House M.D.'. Either way, the concept of telling a story from the perspective of someone who's perception of reality is significantly different from that of everyone around them has always fascinated me deeply and is a huge theme in many of my original works, so I thought writing a chapter like this would be fun (and it was, albeit a little trippy.) Of course, writing from Vanitas' perspective also has quite a bit of skewed reality in it, so I guess you can see this chapter as the natural culmination of a theme that has been in this fic all along. I listened to the 1.5 version of the "End of the World" version of Destati while writing the entirety of Ventus' portion of this, just because I wanted to make sure it would have that "ethereal" feel to it._

 _This chapter marks a huge shift in the dynamic of this story, what with Ventus being an actively participating main character now. There'll definitely be a lot of chapters from his perspective from now on, though none as surreal as this one, I guess. We're drawing closer to covering the actual events of Birth by Sleep, and it makes me quite giddy._


	9. Acceptance

He still couldn't forget that smile.

Vanitas found it ridiculous. It'd been two days since that incident already, and yet Ventus' face still wouldn't leave him alone. It just kept smiling and smiling at him no matter what he did, as if it were stalking his every step. It seemed so omnipresent that nothing about it seemed real, especially not the moment when he had first seen it. The idea of Ventus smiling at him, let alone _thanking_ him, felt nothing short of impossible. How could he know he didn't simply dream it up?

Actually, he _did_ know. He had eye-witnesses in Aqua and Terra. That's what made it all the more surreal. Right after Ventus had spoken that afternoon, the older Keyblade Wielders had brought the boys back to the castle, where they excitedly inform their Master of what had happened, how Ventus had shown interest in training and had spoken a full sentence, and how Vanitas had stepped in to protect his twin when it became necessary. 'Protect'. That word still tasted wrong on Vanitas' tongue. He would not have called what he did that afternoon 'protecting' by any stretch of the imagination. But then, what would he call it? He didn't actually know. It made him feel silly. What did he even care what his actions were called? They weren't even really his. He'd already established quite well to himself that he'd been acting on Ventus' emotions that moment, rather than on his own. However, if that was true, it still didn't explain why Ventus had thanked him after all was said and done. Why he had _smiled_ at him. Of course, he'd tried to make sense of it. To rationalize it. He'd told himself, that it was just a fluke, that Ventus' face just happened to be stuck that way at the time, or that he was probably mocking him somehow, but after a while all these explanations began to feel silly and pointless. Still, none was as ridiculous as the alternative: That Ventus had smiled because he was happy to see him. That, at least for that moment, he'd enjoyed Vanitas' presence.

Ever since the incident, Vanitas hadn't taken part in any training or joined the the shared meals. Even the few chores he actually had made a habit of doing, he'd begun to neglect again. He needed time for himself, to think. The problem with that was that he didn't really know _what_ to think about. Everything he did end up contemplating would eventually just make him feel sick or frustrated, until he'd stop and find a small object to break. There was a balcony on the castle's third floor which faced a rocky crag. Nobody ever seemed to come there, it was somewhat close to his room and it also was in the castle's shadow for most of the day, meaning the sun wouldn't bother him too much. A good enough spot, he supposed. That balcony was where Vanitas spent most of the two days following what happened, taking little pebbles with him and flinging them down at the rocks, trying to shatter them doing so. Whenever he managed to break one, it would take his mind off his confusion for at least a few seconds. On the afternoon of the second day, Eraqus found Vanitas up on the balcony.

"Don't you think that you could put the time you have to much better use?" Vanitas heard the old man's voice from behind.

He turned around and faked a smirk at Eraqus, "...Is what you'd say if you actually cared, huh?"

"Does it seem that unrealistic to you that I would say these words in earnest?" asked Eraqus.

Vanitas shrugged. "Whatever. Ventus is coming back to his senses. He's not even trying to push me away anymore. Guess that means you won't have to put up with me being around for much longer, right?"

"So what Terra and Aqua said must be true..." Eraqus approached Vanitas, his previously tense stance relaxing a little. "You prevented harm to Ventus' heart of your own will."

"Tch. Right. My 'will'." Vanitas turned away.

"Then, perhaps it was... Ventus' will?" Eraqus tried to read from Vanitas' reaction. "That would not be too unnatural, I assume. After all, the two of you were originally one being. It is interesting, however. This might imply that the rift between the two of you is in the process of mending itself."

"Yeah. Sure. That's clearly the reason why he looked and me and thanked me like was an actual, real person, right?"

"Just moments ago you yourself suggested that Ventus and you may soon be one and the same again. Why are you rejecting the idea now?"

Vanitas fell silent.

"I take from this that you yourself don't understand how your heart and Ventus' heart interact at this point."

Why was he even talking to him, if he already knew all answers to these questions? Vanitas felt seriously annoyed by this conversation, but getting off the balcony would have required getting past Eraqus, and right now he didn't even feel like making that effort. With crossed arms, Vanitas glanced over his own shoulder, down onto the sharp rocks where the pieces of the pebbles he'd broken still lied. "What do you need my take for? Just make of it what you will. Not like it's gonna make any difference to you."

"Then let me tell you what I think," Eraqus said, standing right in front of Vanitas. "Whether Ventus' and your own actions two days ago mean that your hearts are becoming accustomed to each other's presence once more or something else, it is progress nevertheless. My students talks to me about the both of you every day, and what they tell me has definitely... intrigued me."

Vanitas listened up. Aqua and Terra talked about him? What did they tell him? Now that he had heard this he felt eager to know, as if it were an itch he just needed to scratch, but his pride forbade him from just asking Eraqus for details. Instead he looked at the old Master with interest, waiting for him to continue. However, rather than more gossip, Vanitas was given a question.

"There is something I need to ask you, Vanitas. What does the term 'χ-Blade' mean to you?"

There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them before Vanitas broke into disbelieving laughter. Holding his stomach and shaking his head a little, the boy spoke. "That's... That's a joke, right?" With a swing of his arm, Vanitas summoned the Void Gear and began to twirl it in one hand, clearly amused by the face Eraqus was making at him. "You're going senile, old man. _Of course_ I know what a Keyblade is. If anything, I think the others should probably be worried about how apparently _you_ don't know anymore. Tch. One Master you are."

Vanitas fully expected Eraqus to show anger at this insult and braced himself for it. It was worth it, no matter what would come next. That one brief display of forgetfulness on Eraqus' part had just been too perfect to pass up on. However, what Vanitas received in reaction to his taunts wasn't retribution, but the sight of Eraqus' previously stern expression softening in what appeared to be surprise at first, and then relief. The boy stopped playing with his Keyblade. What was going on? He'd given Eraqus no reason to make _that_ face at him, right? ...What was it with all these people _smiling_ at him!

"Alright," Eraqus said with that expression which made no sense to Vanitas. "Let me inform you of my progress in researching a way of reversing Ventus' and your condition then: Regrettably, I haven't yet found anything. However, the progress both of you have made of your own accord so far is commendable. You might not have heard, but Ventus' progress has accelerated those past few days. He is now taking care of his own tasks and as of yesterday, he has been training properly alongside Aqua and Terra."

"Good for him," Vanitas replied, wishing that Eraqus would stop talking. A reminder of Ventus' newfound ability to do things such as smile was really the last thing he needed right now.

A sigh on his lips and trying not to mind how disinterested Vanitas sounded, Eraqus continued, "Light is a miraculous power. It grows as it is shared. Still, I did not imagine how quickly its seeds would take root within a heart so gravely damaged. Especially the changes in _you_ , Vanitas, exceed my wildest expectations. At this rate, it might not even be necessary..."

At this point, Eraqus saw a wide-eyed, unusually pale expression on Vanitas' face and, after a pause, resolved to not finish what he'd begun to say. Vanitas was glad he didn't. In his mind he'd already completed Eraqus' sentence for him, and he realized that he found the result oddly disquieting. As if the old man was predicting the day of his death to him, ironically enough. Eraqus altered the path of their conversation a little.

"I have decided that you are allowed to stay here and train as one of my students for as long as you want and refrain from showing hostility. As long as you act in accordance with our principles and dedicate yourself to training in the same way as Terra and Aqua, you will be treated with the same respect and hold the same privileges and responsibilities as them. There is only one limitation." And at once, the serious expression from before returned to Eraqus' face. "No matter the reason, you must _never_ fight Ventus."

What a puzzling question, Vanitas thought. "You still think I'm going to try and kill him?"

"Let me make myself unmistakably clear," said Eraqus, his eyes still cold and stern. "I will treat you as a person and as my student for as long as you act deserving of it. But the moment you even as much as attempt to attack Ventus, even under the guise of training, I _will_ give up on all mercy, and you _will_ be erased from the face of this or any other world. Do you understand?"

"So I guess you found out that killing me won't necessarily kill Ventus too, huh?"

 _"Do you understand?"_

Eraqus' odd mood-swings were puzzling Vanitas in the most irritating of ways. First he acts interested, then almost sickeningly sweet, and now he was back to making threats? Just what had the old man learned while reading up on broken hearts? All Vanitas could take from this was that Eraqus, for some ungodly reason, now trusted him, but not enough to not kill him at the drop of a hat. Very reassuring indeed. Just how was that supposed to make him feel? 'Mocked' was all he could come up with. Still, the prospect of being allowed to continue the lifestyle he had grown accustomed to before Ventus woke up was... Quite nice, he guessed. Being able to spend his days battling Aqua and Terra, honing his skills, learning from and talking to them. All that for the price of not destroying Ventus and also 'maybe-consequently' himself? It didn't sound like that bad a bargain.

"I understand," Vanitas then said in a slightly bored tone. "I won't touch Ventus. You won't touch me. Deal."

Immediately Eraqus' eyes softened again. "In that case, welcome to the Land of Departure."

"I've been here for months," Vanitas almost yawned.

"And yet I've never welcomed you."

These were some really strange mood-swings.

* * *

If nothing else, the weird conversation with Eraqus had taken Vanitas' mind off what had happened during training the other day once and for all. Maybe an odd talk like that had been just what he needed. Soon after walking away from Eraqus, he found that he felt almost unusually well and more than ready to come face to face with Aqua and Terra again. In fact, now that his mind was clearer he also realized that after two days of skipping meals he was actually quite hungry. Vanitas knew Aqua well enough to know that she'd probably made tons of snacks again today, and he knew Terra well enough to know he probably hadn't eaten half of the amount she'd made for him yet. Meeting them halfway on their way back from training was his best bet to score something to fill his empty stomach with quickly right now. 'Halfway' had been much too gracious estimation, however. As it turned out, Vanitas didn't even get to set both feet outside the castle gates before he saw a trio of persons storm his direction at almost breakneck speeds. Aqua led, followed closely by Ventus, whose hand she was holding.

"M-Master! Master, it's amazing! You have to see this!" she was calling. Vanitas rolled his eyes at this. He'd only just finished dealing with Eraqus, and now Aqua was gonna summon him down here? Maybe he should have made a bee-line for the kitchen instead. In fact, he was just about to turn around and correct this critical error of his, when it was already too late. Aqua had noticed his presence.

"Oh, Vanitas. I'm so glad you're here!" She was already halfway up the stairs. If he pretended he hadn't seen her now, she'd just bore into him with questions about it later on. With a slight groan, he turned back to face her again.

"Hey, Aqua," he greeted. "What's the rush? You guys finish training early today?"

"It's Ven! He's-"

"Ahh-! Aqua, stop, I'm gonna trip! _V_ - _Van_! You gotta help me!"

For the second time in three days, Vanitas forgot how to breath for a few seconds. That voice. That wasn't Terra, and it sure as hell wasn't Aqua. That voice sounded far too familiar. Far too... _personal_... When Vanitas looked down, at the person Aqua was dragging up the stairs behind her, he saw a boy with a very befuddled expression pleadingly staring up at him. His blue eyes were clear, sharp and very aware of his surroundings. Ventus was shouting upstairs.

"Please, Aqua and Terra are acting really off today! S-She's gonna break my hand!"

"-I'm sorry, Ven!"

They'd only just made it up the stairs when Aqua finally let go of Ventus' hand. The young boy stumbled for a moment, before quickly finding his balance again and taking a deep breath. "Van! Thank god! Listen, you gotta help me find the Master. Something's wrong with Aqua and Terra!"

Vanitas, however, just gave Ventus a wide-eyed stare. "...'Van'?" he dully repeated what the blond had said. Then he turned to Aqua. "And you called him... 'Ven'?"

"It's his nickname..." Aqua explained, a little out of breath.

"I-I know..." replied Vanitas, mentally adding a few words. _'But I never told you that it was.'_

He got no chance to ponder that circumstance. Again, Ventus' voice rung out in the castle's doorway.

"Oh, come on, not you too!" The boy was waving his arms around, visibly distressed by what was happening around him.

Finally Terra also made it up the stairs. The eldest of the four was clearly even more out of breath than Aqua - in fact, judged by how he was sweating, Vanitas guessed that he just came out an especially intense sparing session - but he still managed to gasp for enough air to add a few words to the conversation. "We were training and... Ven... He just started talking!"

"Why wouldn't I be talking? Terra!"

Aqua looked as if she'd just witnessed the descent of an angel, "I'm sure it's because of what you said, Terra! You woke him up!"

"I wasn't asleep! I just battled both of you!"

Ventus was so frantic in trying to make sense of his companions words, Vanitas would have found it very funny, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was just as dumbstruck as the other boy was for the moment, albeit in a very different way. Ventus was here, talking and walking, acting like a normal child being told strange things, surrounded by normal people who were telling him strange things. And somehow Vanitas was included in that scenario. And he wasn't Ventus. Vanitas took a step closer to the other. His mouth hung slightly open. He didn't know how to process thesight.

"Van...!" Ventus pleaded at him again, drawing the 'a' long in a childish manner. "Please, what's going on here?"

Vanitas slowly examined Ventus all over, from head to toe, as if he were a rare bird that needed to be identified correctly. "Do you know... Who I am?" He finally - and carefully- asked.

Ventus replied by groaning loudly. "C'mon! First Aqua and Terra, and now you too? Why is everyone acting like they've seen a ghost today? No, worse, you're acting like _I'm_ a ghost! This some kind of joke I'm not in on?"

"Do you _know who I am_?" Vanitas repeated, this time more firmly. For some reason the black-haired boy felt his heart hammer rapidly in his chest.

"Huh?" Confused, Ventus took a step back and looked through the round. The bewildered faces of Aqua and Terra, as well as Vanitas' shock-frozen face were all staring at him, all watching him as if he were set to explode any second now. He didn't get it. Still, as little sense as their behavior made to him, he also couldn't just let them hang like that. Trying to calm down a little, Ventus looked at Vanitas. "Of course I know who you are. Why would I forget my own brother? We've always been together, right?"

To that, Vanitas couldn't say anything. It was a strange moment, one that felt extremely finite to him, yet also seemed to last forever. As if he were watching a document being signed in his name and in blood-red ink. Something had become incredibly different in this one moment, and he didn't know how he felt about it. The sealing wax cooled and dried, the contract was enshrined behind glass. Ventus wasn't him. He wasn't Ventus. Was this reality now?

Ventus seemed even more distressed after he saw Vanitas' reaction to his reply. Had he said something wrong? Why did his brother look so forlorn right now? He hadn't wanted that. Not even Aqua and Terra had had this kind of reaction to... whatever was wrong today. They just seemed overly excited. Aqua was fidgeting and her eyes were red and wet, and looking at Terra, Ventus could tell the tall boy had probably also broken out into very manly tears a couple of times while running back here. At least trice. Vanitas, however, looked like an abandoned puppy out in the rain. That wasn't right. Maybe it was time Ventus just took a breath and accepted he was the only one here who didn't see anything wrong with him today, even if that didn't seem quite right. Putting on a smile, he stretched out a hand to his twin.

"Hey. Don't make that face. This isn't like you. Don't you want to... I don't know, say something mean and spur me on? I thought you were gonna laugh about all of this. Say it's hilarious how clueless I am. Something like that!"

Vanitas looked at the hand and listened to what Ventus was saying. It looked and sounded like an offer, but an offer to what, he didn't know. Ventus really didn't get it, did he? And yet, the boy was trying so hard... Finally, Vanitas scoffed, Then, he chuckled, "You're right. It _is_ ridiculous how clueless you are. Stupid..."

And Ventus laughed, "Well, as long as you're feeling better."

"You don't know that."

"I don't know anything about what's going on right now! But... As long as everyone is okay, I'm too." He took Vanitas' hand.

"And we're glad you're okay, Ven," said Aqua, smiling, and she put a hand on his shoulder.

The other shoulder was quickly taken by Terra, "Hey, I think we all need to celebrate a little tonight. How about Aqua and I go on ahead preparing something in the kitchen?"

Ventus looked up. "Wait! I wanna help!"

Vanitas let go of Ventus' hand and turned around, "I'm gonna go hide the sugar."

"Best idea I've heard all day!" Terra proclaimed.

Ventus' eyes went wide. "What? B-but...I thought, cake..."

"Don't worry. I can sweeten with honey if I have to," said Aqua.

"I'm gonna hide that too."

"No, wait... Come back, _Van_!"

A race through the hallways ensued and someone's cheerful laughter soon filled the whole castle.

* * *

Their hands were sticky with sugar and cream. After a minor disaster involving a disagreement on how to top the first round of muffins to come out of the oven, the two younger boys had left the kitchen to Aqua and Terra, Vanitas because he'd grown bored with the tedious process of baking and Ventus because he felt like he was getting in the way a little. Nevertheless, regardless of how chaotic it was, trying to help with the cooking had been nice. At least that was how Ventus felt.

"Heh heh..." The blonde looked at his palms, tempted to lick his fingers. He held back, though. Acting so childish when his brother was watching would have been a little too embarrassing. He'd probably make fun of him. "I didn't know baking was that fun! We should try again some time."

"You do what you want. I like my hair without sticky goo in it."

"Right. We should probably go wash up."

Ventus playfully bounced off the wall he'd been leaning against, and began to walk down the hallway. He briefly glanced back when he noticed that there were no other footsteps following his. Vanitas was still leaning against that wall, arms crossed. Strange. After his last comment, Ventus would have guessed his brother would want to get rid of the sugar as soon as possible. Well, if he didn't feel like coming, he didn't have to, Ventus supposed. Either way, he himself would be heading for the washroom - Or at least that's what Ventus was planning to do, before he stopped in his path, suddenly feeling strangely puzzled.

"Hey..." Ventus turned back around again, looking at Vanitas.

The black-haired boy dully returned the look, "What?"

"Um, this is gonna sound weird, but..." Ventus bit his lip. "I think I kinda forgot where the washrooms are... Eheheh."

Ventus' embarrassed laugh didn't exactly seem to amuse Vanitas. With a groan and a sigh, he pushed himself off the wall and walked up to and past Ventus. "This way."

"Thanks!"

His arms crossed behind his head, Ventus calmly followed after Vanitas. It felt a little strange. He'd been in this castle for so long now, and yet some of the turns and hallways his brother was leading him down looked a bit unfamiliar. Maybe he was just tired. He did try really hard to beat Terra earlier, after all.

"By the way, why weren't you at training today?" Ventus, who found he didn't like silence very much, attempted to strike up a conversation. "Aqua and Terra were even talking about how it'd be more fun if it were all four of us, as if there was a reason you couldn't be there. I thought that was pretty weird."

Aqua and Terra talking about him. That wasn't the first time Vanitas heard that today. From the sound of it, what Ventus was talking about must have happened before the two of them had realized Ventus had regained his mind and started loosing their own over that fact. So Ventus did remember some things from before that moment...

"No reason," Vanitas replied. "I just didn't go. That's all."

"Huh? Isn't the Master going to be mad about that?"

"I doubt it. The old man was talking to me."

"Ah, so that's why you weren't there, right? Because the Master needed you for something?"

"I already told ya, there was no reason."

"...I don't get it." Ventus sighed deeply. "Hey... Are you still feeling down or something?"

"Where's that coming from?" Vanitas asked, wishing that Ventus would just stop talking. He couldn't hear himself thinking over the other's voice.

"It's just, you sound like you don't actually wanna talk. It was the same when everyone was freaking out earlier. I thought you were feeling a bit better ever since we raced over here, but now you sound like this again..."

"Well, this is what I sound like most of the time," Vanitas replied. "Either get used to it or just don't talk to me."

"Like I don't know that! Geez, you don't have to be such a jerk about it..." Ventus rubbed the back of his neck a little. "I'm just worried, okay? What with everyone acting freaky like that. What actually happened to make you guys flip out like that? I'm trying to remember, but I just can't come up with anything."

For a few seconds, the sound of Vanitas' footsteps slowly making their way down the hallway were the only response Ventus got. Finally Vanitas stopped walking. He couldn't deal with these clueless, carefree ramblings anymore. He had to shut the other up somehow.

"You were sick."

Ventus' eyes widened. "I-I was? But... I don't remember..."

"It's the kind of sick that makes your memory hazy," Vanitas lied. "You were getting better, so the others took you out for sparring. And now you're all better. Funny how that works."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense." Ventus wasn't entirely sure he knew what Vanitas was getting at, but it did explain quite a few things. "So, wait, everyone was just worried about me back there? And there I went acted like you guys were crazy. Great... Now I feel like a jerk."

Vanitas snorted at that, causing Ventus to open his eyes wide. "W-What? Hey, what's so funny!"

"Jerk. Right," Vanitas shook his head. "You're not perfectly perfect for just once in your life, and that immediately makes you the worst thing in the world. Must be nice, to have impossible standards like that. It's kind of pathetic."

Hearing this, Ventus ran up to Vanitas' front. "That's not what I'm saying! I just don't want everyone to feel bad because of me!"

"And what about when you feel bad because of everyone else? Is watching out for how they feel still gonna be the most important thing when it means you'll get hurt?"

"That's not gonna happen! You guys watch out for me, and I watch out for you guys."

"And still you feel bad right now."

"Because you're feeling bad!"

Silence. Vanitas didn't have a witty comeback for that one. At least none that Ventus would have understood the way he was right now.

"Look. I can't really remember what happened, but that just means I wasn't the one who got hurt most from me getting sick, right? I'm sorry I made you guys worry. I'll try to stay healthy from now on. I want you guys to feel better too. Terra, Aqua... You too. You're all really important to me."

Silence. Three solid seconds of it. And then, the strangest sound. At first it sounded like laughter. Then, like crying. And then, like both. Vanitas' body was trembling. He brought his hands up to his face, dug his fingers into it and screamed a little into his palms.

"Vanitas!?" Ventus tried to put his hands on the other boy's shoulders, but the other pulled away.

"I... don't understand this..." he cried and laughed through his fingers. "I don't understand this at all!"

"Neither do I!" Ventus replied. "Why are you crying!?"

"Why are you _not_ crying!?" Vanitas yelled.

"I am!" Ventus yelled back. "This is gonna make me cry! I don't know what's going on with you!"

"You don't even know what's going on with yourself!"

"Neither do you!"

What was this? Nothing made sense. Suddenly Vanitas found himself in Ventus' arms, too limp to pull out or push away. Close in the other's embrace like this, he could feel a warmth he thought he'd long forgotten about, just a little bit of it. It scared him, turned his stomach like a bad meal, maybe even stung a little, but something about it was comforting all the same. That was light. _His_ light. And if Ventus knew what was good for him, he'd push Vanitas away and protect that light. But he didn't. He kept holding on. Vanitas' body felt so unbearably heavy right now. He wanted to cast it off, but it just wouldn't come lose. Maybe it never would. He was more and more coming to terms with that reality. He wasn't feared by Ventus, but also wasn't Ventus himself.

"What am I now?" Vanitas mumbled into Ventus' shoulder.

"Why would you ask that?" Ventus shook his head a little. "You're my brother."

Maybe that was a reality he could learn to live with, however pathetic and stupid it was.

* * *

Had that outburst in the hallways happened because the contrast between his own emotions and Ventus' had overwhelmed him? Vanitas could only wonder about that question once he'd calmed down a little. He had no way of knowing, especially since he still hadn't learned if the emotional connection he had to Ventus worked both ways. If it did, it might make sense how Ventus cried with him back there. If not, then Ventus was just a crybaby, he supposed. He was fine with either, really. What had happened back there had been embarrassing, stupid, weak, pathetic, but the embrace it got him into was the closest he'd been to Ventus' light in months. Maybe the closest he'd ever be to it again. It became easier to think of it that way.

They had a party that night, Eraqus, Aqua, Terra, Ventus and him. It was nothing but eating, drinking, a bit of music and a few magic tricks. Nothing special at all. Everyone around him was laughing, but Vanitas didn't understand why. To him it was all just white noise. He felt nothing when they laughed. But maybe one day, he'd learn to understand it. Just like how Ventus had learned to believe in lies.

"By the way." Aqua tried to strike up a conversation with Vanitas that night, when Terra and Eraqus were keeping Ventus busy by interrogating him inquisitively about his battle style. "Ventus doesn't seem to realize the two of you had a Master before Master Eraqus. Should we keep it that way? I'm asking you because you know a lot more about what happened back then than we do."

Vanitas sipped from a glass of soda. "I don't really care," he said. "But I don't think there's a point in reminding him. I definitely don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Um, alright. Then, in order to avoid accidentally bringing the subject up again," Aqua bent over the table a little. "I don't think we've ever asked before, and it would be little strange if Ventus realized that we didn't know already, so I'll just ask you now: Which one of you is the older brother? I mean, I know that you're twins, but one of you has to have been first, right?"

A few seconds passed as Vanitas took another sip. Then, he replied.

"I am." He lied, for no particular reason. "By six minutes and sixtysix seconds."

"Wouldn't that be seven minutes and six seconds?" Aqua asked.

"Who's counting?" he replied.

Aqua laughed. And for the only time that night, Vanitas felt as if he might be able to laugh along a little bit.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _Homophone_ _words with different spellings are a great way to let the reader know things without letting the characters know. Finally I can appreciate Nomura's stupid pun._

 _Aaaaand, we have a Ventus. A properly functioning one, even. Things are going to be so much fun from this point on. Rewatching BbS' cutscenes for the Xth time to make sure my characterization for everyone is reasonable given the timeline differences, I noticed that Canon!Ventus actually *does* have a bit of the snark Vanitas so frequently exhibits left in him. I'll have to find a worthy application of that snark in future chapters._

 _For the time being, I took a look at the quickly approaching "alternate BbS events" portion of this fic and mapped out the entirety of timeline, including who is going to visit which Disney World when. That part of the fanfic is gonna be upon us really soon, since, as sad as I am to see the Slice of Life silliness go, I don't feel I can justify going into too much detail about the 4 years interim without making it feel forced. It just wouldn't serve much of a purpose for the story I'm trying to tell. Another thing I'll say ahead of time is that I've decided to cut Neverland entirely from the events, because_ _I needed to make room for another world that fit the themes of the fic better. Sorry, Neverland fans._ _Without spoiling anything, I'll go ahead and say that I've decided to ditch the actual game's "several parallel campaigns, played one after another" approach, since I think that would only get boring once the first character's side is finished, since knowing the actual game *and* knowing the major differences in the timeline is gonna make it excessively easy figuring out what happened even when only visiting one character's PoV, and I don't want three of them to fall by the wayside like that. Instead, I'm gonna go with an approach more similar to what Dream Drop Distance did, jumping back and forth between PoVs, keeping the timelines somewhat in sync. I hope I can make it work._

 _Another "important" thing to note: I'm a nerd who always picks a "theme song" for every single one of her stories, fanfic or original, and imagines an intricate "Anime Opening" with it in her mind. For this fic, I've finally decided on the song "Massive Passive" by "la la larks", AKA the best band to ever music. They only just released the song two months ago, but I've already fallen in love with it, and the vibe and lyrics fit this fic perfectly. The song is about living life in the moment and embracing it, with all its light and shadow sides. The official music video is on Youtube, so definitely check it out._


	10. Comfort

_"In your hand, take this blade. And so long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be made!"_

 _"What's that about? Who went and made you Master?"_

 _"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about!"_

 _"Well, you're not the only one,"_

 _"I know."_

 _It was only the three of them, gazing out to the dazzling, blue sky. That afternoon he'd been trying to fight and beat Terra. Not to be better than him, just to walk with him and Aqua, on the same world, living the same life. It was scary, to have that key raised against him, again and again, but he'd realized that if he wanted to be by their side, he had to be stronger. Not stronger than them, just strong enough to be with them. Strong enough to not run away and hide in a bright place whenever the dark drew near. He shouldn't be afraid of the dark in the first place. That person, the one who wasn't here, had so much less light than they had, and yet his color was just as pleasing and important to him. All their colors were. That was why Ventus couldn't run away anymore._

 _Bathed in the light of the sun, Terra knelled down before Ventus and handed the wooden Keyblade to him._

 _"We all share the same dream."_

 _With the sun behind him like that, Terra looked radiant to Ventus, just as beautiful as the borrowed light he'd turn to whenever he was scared, but far more colorful, far more alive and real. In fact, everything seemed more real when they were there. Voices had colors, colors had shapes, shapes had textures and depth and temperature and a surface that could be touched. Aqua had taken care of him, and Vanitas had protected him, but it was Terra who had led him here. Terra who was telling him what his dream was. Terra who was giving him such an important gift. If he just didn't run away anymore, Terra would definitely lead him everywhere, and he'd never have to be alone again._

 _Ventus laughed. The moment he touched Terra's gift, the wooden Keyblade, the world seemed doused in millions of shining colors and Ventus forgot that reality had ever looked or felt different to him. This way he'd never be able to run away and hide in the borrowed light again. He would be brave now._

* * *

A pure heart would never have been able to sustain so many falsehoods for long without eventually revealing them. It was a good thing that he wasn't a pure heart. Lies were Vanitas' everyday life now, both the lies mandated on him by Eraqus, as well as the lies that Ventus' mind had made up to fill the gaps in its heart's fragmented memory. Whenever they became relevant to him, he would simply go along with, sometimes even embellish them. Sometimes doing that was quite fun. 'Reminding' Ventus of amusing mishaps that never really happened to him. Attributing successes in Ventus' actual past to himself. Explanations were found and internalized, for the boy's differing attitudes, their likes and dislikes, their opinions and believes. Little by little, lie by lie, a past was built that all of them believed in.

Solidifying their new shared reality, the four young Keyblade Wielders soon fell into the final version of the rhythm that should become their everyday life, training together several times every day, sharing meals, and splitting their tasks by 3.5 (because, in spite of all scolding, Vanitas would still only do his chores every other day.) Days passed by and turned to weeks. Soon the days became long and hot and the sun's angle in the sky so sharp, it was blinding. Summer had come, making outdoor training an unusually tedious chore. Especially Vanitas found the harsh sunlight so unbearable, he would refuse to train outside, and attempt to manipulate the others into doing the same. Of course, Aqua and Terra would have none of it. No matter how good a job Vanitas did at half-jokingly convincing Ventus that stepping outside in this weather would quite literally result in all of them bursting into flames, their two elder companions were always quick to step in and set the record straight.

"C'mon, Ven. You know he's just messing with you." Terra would say, and ruffle Ventus' hair.

"Right..." The blonde boy nodded, still seeming a little uneasy.

Vanitas, meanwhile, scoffed, "Killjoy."

"Hey, I'm not the one here who's been refusing to do anything but indoor combat for three weeks in a row!" Terra returned. "You still owe me a rematch on the hill, remember?"

"Yeah, sure. Will do. In October, maybe."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Terra, and just a few days later, him and Aqua had arranged for the entire group, including their Master, to have a picnic down by the river. When the day of the event came, Vanitas just found himself dragged along down to the river bench, forced into a swimsuit the others had conjured up for him from somewhere, and all resistance was futile. It was a deeply humiliating experience, leading to the black-haired boy's retreat into the shadow of a nearby tree as soon as the group arrived at their destination. He also made sure to pocket about half the sandwiches that Terra had made before he split from the others. It didn't take 3 minutes for Ventus to come after him.

"C'mon. You can't seriously want to spend the whole day over here."

"I can. I do. I will." Vanitas replied. He demonstratively shoved a whole sandwich into his mouth.

Ventus sighed. "I know, I know, it's hot and all. But that's why we're down here! Really, how about a swim in the river? That's sure to cool us down."

"Except we don't know how to swim."

"-Ah. Right! We don't."

Vanitas made a very unimpressed face at that reaction. It was what he'd expected, of course. This confused way of self-correcting was how Ventus usually acted when his mind was frantically trying to fill in a newly found gap in his memory. It was like watching a six years old desperately trying to blotch out the equation _'2+2=5'_ before their teacher could see. Ventus himself never seemed aware of how awkward these moments were, and Aqua and Terra simply did them off as a slight air-headed streak. Vanitas got to keep all of the second-hand embarrassment to himself.

"Still, that just means that this is a good chance to learn, right?" Ventus' eyes were shining with enthusiasm. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Me having to go out in the sun."

"I'm telling you, it's gonna be fun!"

"Drowning."

"Like the others would let us drown!"

"Having to listen to any more of your nagging."

Ventus understandably had no counterargument for that. His face fell into a little frown as he tried to think about how to possibly work his way out of this stalemate. No way could he just allow Van to stay over here in the shade, when everyone else was by the water and having fun. Or were they? It was now that Ventus noticed a pair of blue eyes glistening in the bushes right behind his brother. Just a second later, the leaves parted and a large shape lunged out like a hungry wolf.

"Gotcha!" Terra's triumphant voice rang out.

" _W-Wha-!?_ "

Vanitas found himself trapped in one very firm headlock, courtesy of the eldest apprentice.

"Say, have you been getting slower?" Terra grinned down at his hostage. "I could have sworn you'd be able to get away from this one."

Vanitas just growled, trying to wriggle himself free. "Sneaking up from behind is dirty."

"You do it all the time."

"Just let me go, Terra!"

Terra laughed. Fairly unimpressed by every kick into his backside and punch into his gut his unwilling passenger tried to land, he dragged the young boy over to the riverbank, where he finally gave him a hearty push, tossing him into shallow water. Like a carp leaping up a cascade, Vanitas immediately shot back out of the water again, sputtering and trashing around enough to splash everything within a five meters plenty. Watching him gave his two observers up on dry land a good laugh.

"Didn't I say it was gonna be fun?" Ventus called down to his brother.

"Shuddup! You can take your 'fun' and shove it!" Somewhere in-between all this thrashing and splashing Vanitas had summoned his Keyblade. "Hey, Terra, if it's a fight you want just say it outright!"

"Sorry, but no Keyblades today." Terra replied. "If you wanna beat me, you'll have to line up behind Aqua."

"...Behind Aqua?"

Before Vanitas could ask what Terra meant, he heard a voice echo out from somewhere above them.

"Hey! Boys!"

All three of them looked up at a nearby rock formation, on top of which they spotted a very familiar silhouette waving at them.

"It would be safer if you all got away from there! I won't hold back!" Aqua called down to them.

"Sure! Just give us a moment!" Terra replied. He reached a hand down to help Vanitas out of the water.

Well, there had _certainly_ been a point in tossing him in the first place now, right? Why yes, Vanitas did feel quite irritated by all of this. Still, the whole affair had also spurned on his desire to stick it right back to Terra quite a bit and he couldn't deny that he was curious as to what kind of 'competition' it was that Terra and Aqua were holding. After what just happened, he had to make sure to become its winner. Looking up at the rock Aqua was standing on, Vanitas had to squint a little. The sun was right behind her and stung in his eyes, but he managed to make her form out clearly in the end. She wore a two-piece swimsuit and her long hair was pinned up in a bun. It was a little odd to see her without the flowing fabric she usually had tied around her waist tracing her every move, but it was unmistakably Aqua nevertheless.

The moment the path was cleared and Terra gave a sign, Aqua took a little run up and leaped off the rock in a high arc. Spinning in the air a couple of times, she finally stretched out straight, pointing the very tips of her left foot's toes at the water's surface. They cut into it and she graciously slid underwater, making quite sizable waves as she did. A few moments later Aqua came up again, shaking off the water in her face and hair.

"So? How was I?" she asked. Her voice sounded confident.

Terra stroked his chin a little, "Hmm... A 6.5, I'd say. That wasn't exactly what I'd call a decent splash."

"You never said that it was supposed to be about splashing," Aqua claimed.

"It's diving, what else is it supposed to be about?"

"Body-control and technique."

Terra sighed and shook his head, "You always think so... fancy."

"In the first place, I don't have the body-volume to make a splash like the one you did earlier," Aqua added. "So I don't think judging by that would be quite fair."

"I give Aqua an 8.5," said Ventus, one hand raised. "She didn't splash, but I thought those twirls looked pretty cool!"

Aqua laughed, "That's the same score you gave Terra earlier, isn't it?"

"Well, he didn't twirl!"

"Because I wasn't trying to twirl."

"And Aqua wasn't trying to splash. So it's even."

The bickering was all in good fun. The three of them had bright smiles on their faces. Still, Terra felt in need of resolution.

"Alright, looks like we're gonna need a tie-breaker," he said. "Van, what did you think about-"

'Van' didn't answer, because he wasn't in his spot anymore. Terra found himself appealing to air. Just when he thought the boy had run back to his hiding space under the tree, Terra realized that Aqua and Ven were making excited faces at the rock formation. He followed their line of sight, just in time to see Vanitas charge off the edge of the platform. Keyblade summoned, the boy roared and summer-saulted midair, then charged the Void Gear with energy, thrusting it down onto the water with full force-

 _SPLASH_

The impact of the weapon was powerful enough to momentarily displace all of the water in its way. For a moment after his landing, Vanitas was standing on the more or less dry ground of the riverbed, feeling a sense of superiority. Then the laws of physics decided it was payback time. The water of the slow-moving river, which had seemed stationary in front of, behind and besides him for a good second, now came crashing down onto him like a collapsing border wall. The moment Vanitas saw the tidal wave descend to bury him from above, his confident smirk dropped, his eyes widened and he knew that he'd made a terrible mistake.

The next 3 minutes of Vanitas' life were a blank. The first thing he heard when he came to were the chimes of a curative spell, as well as Aqua's voice repeatedly asking him if he was okay. He could feel Ventus shake his shoulders and when he opened his eyes, he saw Aqua sit by his side, sighing with relief, and Terra standing over him, rubbing his temple.

"Thank goodness... But that's why I said _no Keyblades_!"

"Listen..." Vanitas coughed up some water. "I splashed hard enough to part the river and looked cool doing it. You either give me this win now, or I'm out of here."

Aqua, Terra and Ventus collectively stared down at their companion, incredulous at his words. Ventus actually did a double take, looking at Aqua and Terra, then back to his brother. He ended up being the first of the three to speak up. "Whoa, wait! You almost drowned, I can't judge that!"

"You can just judge what happened _before_ I almost drowned."

"It's kind of hard to think of what happened 'before', when the after part is 'almost drowned'." Terra argued, but Van still wouldn't let off.

"You guys gonna give me my 30 points now, or what?"

In the end the four of them settled on repeating the contest from scratch, this time with clearly set rules. Among them were: No Keyblades, no tidal-waves, and splashing and acrobatics were equally valid stylistic choices. Additionally, Aqua would cast a floating spell on Ventus and Vanitas to ensure their lack of swimming ability wouldn't get in the way of the game again. (She also made it clear that they would get started on teaching the twins how to swim properly before the end of the day.) Despite all these rules, there was no clearly discernible winner in the end. They forgot to keep track of points over the fun of coming up with more and more ridiculously elaborate ways to dive into the river. In his mind, of course, Vanitas held that he was obviously the only true victor.

"If you say so... But I still think my third jump was the best of them all!"

Vanitas raised a brow when Ventus said this while the four of them were splitting up and eating the remaining sandwiches.

"The one where you tried to break-dance mid-air?"

"Wasn't that awesome!"

"You looked like a drunk salmon."

"Hey, it _felt_ awesome to me!"

How Ventus felt about his stupid maneuver wasn't what Vanitas was wondering about. He could feel that much for himself. No, something else about what Ventus had said had caught his attention.

"...You really think that one was the best? Not one of Aqua's or Terra's...?"

"Or yours! Nope, I'm sticking with it. That one stays my favorite, even if you don't agree with me!"

Giving himself credit. Deserved or not, that was not something Vanitas had expected Ventus to do. Was that really that same Ventus? Well, he supposed it wasn't. That 'same Ventus', the one from his memories, would have been the two of them, together, as one person. But even so, just a while ago, this Ventus had been unable to do as much think without help. And before that, he'd allowed Xehanort to-

 _'It's in the past...'_ Vanitas closed his eyes and took a bite out of his sandwich. _'What's it matter now if Ventus is a weakling or not? It's not like we're ever going back.'_

His mind was still searching for reasons to hate Ventus. A part of him still did hate him, he supposed. In the end, though, he knew that there was no actual point to it and he tried not to pay those feelings much mind. Being able to spend his days like this, getting in and out of trouble and growing stronger alongside the others was usually enough to take his mind off the pain, which faded more and more into the background like a barely noticeable buzzing noise with every passing day.

* * *

Weeks passed by and turned to months. Winter meant longer nights and shorter days, but it also meant biting cold, which the castle's wood-powered heating system wasn't equipped to handle. The morning when Aqua and Terra woke up to find their rooms raided and devoid of blankets, pillows, sweaters and everything else fluffy and warm was when they both made a mad dash for Vanitas' room and hammered against the door. The black-haired boy spent twenty minutes angrily yelling at them that, no, he had no idea where their stuff went, and, what the hell, did he look like he'd be building a stupid pillow fort in his room, what are you even thinking, leave me alone! - until, finally, Ventus approached the group from behind,

"Hey, guys, the Master's got a bad cold. I've been trying to keep him warm all morning, so I had to take some of your stuff when you were still asleep. I hope that's okay."

What followed were some very awkward exchanges of guilty looks and angry glares, along with profound apologies. The rest of the day was spent with Terra and Ventus cooking soup, Aqua tending to Eraqus and Vanitas going out to get some more wood to get the overall temperature in the castle up by at least a couple of degrees. With nightfall all of them gathered around the fireplace in the dining room, where Aqua began to tell a curious tale.

"It's said that somewhere out there is a world where a man lives who can see into the hearts of all children. If they only wish so, he will visit them on the night of their world's winter solstice and bring good children who believe in him wonderful presents."

"Wow!" Ventus leaned forward a bit. "Is that really true, Aqua? But I thought only we Keyblade Wielders could travel between worlds."

"That man is special," Aqua winked.

"Yeah. Not actually existing is pretty special." said Vanitas and yawned.

Shocked, Ventus turned to look at him, "Don't say that! Didn't you hear what she said? You're not gonna get any presents!"

"If you want presents so badly, Ven, just say it." Terra stepped in. "We're not gonna forget about you. That's what friends are for, right? Look at me and Aqua. She got me an Energy Bangle last year."

Aqua protested, "That wasn't me, that was Santa." And she glared at Terra warningly.

He just rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Aqua. You were the only one who knew I wanted one of those. Why credit someone else?"

"I don't take credit for things I didn't do." she said. "But maybe this year I'll really have to pitch in and get you something extra. I don't think Santa will want to come to visit you again with that attitude."

Terra was baffled by Aqua's insistence on her story. He turned to Eraqus. "M-Master! Say something, please."

"You would do well to not underestimate Santa, Terra," said Eraqus, a nostalgic look on his face. "Why, I remember a marvelous crystal chess set I received from him one winter, when I was just a boy training under my Master..."

Terra gave up all hope when he heard that. Despondent, he sat back down in his chair and scowled at the flickering fire.

"So, when we're all done philosophizing about Annual Gift Man..." Vanitas got up from his seat and stretched a little. "I'm up for sparring. Anybody coming to the hall with me?"

Terra spoke, "I'd like to... But somebody should stay with the Master. Just in case."

Eraqus laughed at that. "It is just a cold, Terra. I appreciate the care, but there is really no need to worry about me."

"Excuse me, Master, but the castle is still much too cold to be sure you won't get worse," Aqua stood up and looked at the man. "I think I should probably stay here with you. Just... in case."

The oddly placed pause in Aqua's words didn't pass by Vanitas, and neither did the oddly meaningful smile she was giving Eraqus. Things became especially suspicious when Eraqus returned said smile. Just what were the two scheming?

"Alright. In that case, Aqua will stay here," said Eraqus. "You others may go and attend to your daily training."

Barely were the words spoken when Ventus leaped out of his chair and over to Vanitas.

"I'll race ya!" he proclaimed and dashed off.

"Don't whine when you're eating my dust again!"

And with that, both of them zipped out of the door. Terra, who'd long since learned that no amount of will power could help him keep up once the twins got like this, followed at his own pace.

* * *

Four days later was the night of the winter solstice, which they celebrated with a proper feast. The morning after, Ventus woke up to find a group of four neatly-wrapped boxes by his bed.

"Wow! It really worked. Santa _was_ here!" Excited, the boy got up from his bed and picked up one of the quartet of parcels, lifting it up to his ear and shaking it a little. "I wonder what's inside... I should probably open them together with the others."

Ventus picked up a spare cloth of linen from the cupboard and got to scooping the four boxes up into it, so he'd be able to carry them to the dining hall without risk of dropping one. He just couldn't wait to open them up. If Santa really knew what was in his heart, the presents had to be great, right? At least that's how he'd imagined it worked when Aqua told him the story. Ventus had just picked up the fourth box and moved to put it into the cloth with the others, when he found himself stopping. Quietly, he stared at the three boxes that were already inside for a while.

"I wonder..." He mumbled, not quite sure where he was going with this sentence himself. "...What did I get last year?"

Last year's winter solstice... He'd been there for it, hadn't he? Of course he was there, where else would he have been? So, Terra had gotten an Energy Bangle from Santa last year. But what did Ventus get? He'd always been nice, he was sure of it, but try as he might, he couldn't remember Santa's last present to him, or how long ago that had been. Ventus' forehead wrinkled a little. Another blank. That happened sometime. Master Eraqus had told him it was normal, and that some memories just weren't as easily recalled as others at certain times, but sometimes Ventus wasn't too sure of it.

He thought for a bit longer. Nothing. It just wouldn't come to him. Ventus sighed. "I'll just have to ask Van... He'll know."

Vanitas always seemed to know the things Ventus was wondering about whenever he was drawing a blank. Either his brother's memory was really good, or Ventus' was just very bad. Regardless of which it was, it could get a little embarrassing to be corrected by him all the time. Of course, it was still a lot better than just constantly guessing, even if most of his guesses ended up being correct anyway. He just had to get better at remembering things. Back when he was sick and got his wooden Keyblade, Terra had told him to never forget that he'd been with Aqua and him that day. He wouldn't forgive himself if he forgot that of all things. Ah, yes. The wooden Keyblade. Ventus' eyes briefly wandered to the shelf where the precious keepsake rested, making him smile a bit. No matter how great Santa's presents would be, he thought, nothing would ever be a better gift than this Keyblade. It had been Terra's pride when he gave it to him, lovingly carved to perfection. To be completely honest, Ventus still didn't entirely understand why Terra had entrusted him with such an important possession that day. Keeping the fact that they all shared the same dream and ambitions in Ventus' memory must have been insanely important to him. All the more reason to work on making his recollections from here on out more thorough and long-lasting.

Ventus had even considered writing a diary for a while, but he proved a little too impatient to put down much of anything coherent. All he wrote down would end up as an unintelligible mess of keywords and stream of consciousness. He just wasn't very good when it came to staying focused, he supposed. Sometimes he wondered if Vanitas had the same problems, but he was always quick to dismiss the thought. No way. Van always stayed on point, going straight for the shortest route from A to B with everything he did. It was one of the things Ven admired about him. Just imagining the other's mind 'meander' seemed silly to him. Probably not a genetic problem then. Just a difference in focus. Though, maybe it was a good thing Ventus' thoughts tended to wander about as they did. As impressive as his amount of focus was, Ventus had to admit to himself that Vanitas' single-minded determination and stubbornness could get a tad too intense for him now and then. At times it downright scared him.

' _Scared_ '. Right. That was another thing he had to work on. There were so many things Ventus knew he was scared of. Being the last person left in an empty room, being surrounded in combat, waking up in pitch black darkness in his room at midnight. Sometimes he even found himself instinctively backing away from the strike of another's Keyblade in combat, rather than properly blocking it. He had far too many fears for his own liking. This just wouldn't do. It was embarrassing. If he wanted to keep up with the others and become a Keyblade Master one day, he'd have to get better, a lot braver. More fierce when it came to standing his ground. More like Terra, who never let anything shake him for long without shaking back.

Ventus shook his head. He was being unfocused again, wasn't he? What was he doing here, musing to himself? He had to get to breakfast already so he could open his presents with the others! Getting changed from his pajamas into his regular clothes took him a couple of minutes. Unlike Aqua and Terra, who'd been fitted with Keyblade Armor and the proper footwear to use with it last summer, he and Vanitas were still too young and, according to Master Eraqus, not yet eligible to wear those parts of a Keyblade Apprentice's attire. Of course, Ven's brother had taken personal offense to this perceived sleight and yelled angry insults and obscenities through the castle all day after one ill-conceived attempt of his to raid the Master's personal armory had been thwarted, but personally, Ventus was actually quite happy he didn't have to wear all those heavy parts quite yet. It made getting ready in the morning a lot easier.

He was in the hallway now, making his way to the dinning hall in quick, wide steps. In the bundle he carried with him, the presents rattled back and forth so much that for a moment he was worried he might accidentally break something, so he pulled the cloth tighter and moved more steadily. He just couldn't wait to unpack those boxes. Hopefully he wasn't late. Were the others at breakfast already? He couldn't say for Aqua and Terra, but when it came to Vanitas, his question would be answered just seconds later, when Ventus turned around a corner and found his brother leaning against the wall next to his room's door, turning and examining some sort of small object in his hand.

"Oh... Morning, Van!"

The black-haired boy reacted to Ventus' voice by turning his head and looking at him, head to toe, then raising an eye-brow, "What's with the sack? Laundry day was yesterday, slowpoke."

Ven sighed. As always, his brother wasn't one for morning greetings. But would it really hurt him to be a little nicer? Just once? "It's not my laundry, I finished it yesterday before you did yours, remember? Anyway, I was heading for breakfast. You coming too?"

Vanitas was already back to playing with the thing in his hand. "Nah, not hungry. I'll pass. See you at Morning Training then."

"W..What? But! It's the winter solstice..!"

"So?" Vanitas flicked the thing he was holding in his hand. Only now Ventus got a closer look at it and could tell that the 'small object' his brother had been playing with was actually a pendant on a chain of sorts, shaped like a teethed silver coin with a large, black jewel in the middle. Ventus leaned in closer.

"Wait, is that... a Keychain? Wow, those are supposed to be super rare! Where did you get it?"

"Hm, oh. This thing?" Vanitas caught the token between his index and middle fingers and held it up. "It was in some purple box next to my bed. Guess somebody must have left it there."

 _'Box next to his bed'._ Ven's face fell immediately in disenchantment. "You opened your presents without us? Aww, c'mon! Van!"

The reaction alone was enough to make Vanitas snort a little. He started mimicking Ventus' voice mockingly, "' _Vaaaaaan_ ' what? If it's a present, then it's mine and I can open it where and when I want, right? Right. Alright." He turned his attention back to the Keychain.

Ventus, however, wasn't quite giving up on his dreams of the perfect solstice morning yet. What Vanitas held in his hand was only _one_ Keychain. In Ventus' bag, there were _four_ presents.

"Um, so... Those boxes. You've got a few more of them, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, I guess." Vanitas replied. "There might've been one, two more..."

That was all Ven needed to hear. At once he tore open the door to Vanitas' room and dashed inside.

"W-Wait, what are you doing- _VENTUS_!"

Nobody was allowed in Vanitas' room without prior permission. _**Nobody**_. Especially not Ventus. The sheer amount of pure, concentrated _murder_ on Vanitas' mind the moment he saw the other enter into his den was rather immeasurable. Ventus probably did not even understand the grave risk he was taking by committing this terrible act of trespassing, but even if he had known, he might not have minded. In fact, getting Vanitas agitated enough to chase after him was quite perfect for his intentions right now. In five seconds flat, Ventus had grabbed the three boxes he found tangled up in a stray quilt cover (without an actual quilt inside) next to his brother's bed and put them into his bag. He made sure to remember what they looked like, so he'd be able to tell them apart later. Then, jumping past Vanitas, who was just in the process of leaping at him, he left the room and sped down the hallway. If Ventus had taken a second to check, he would have seen that Vanitas was coming at him with his Keyblade. Either way, Ventus was fairly certain his brother wouldn't catch him. When it came to speed, the two of them were equally matched. As long as he didn't slow down, Vanitas wouldn't catch up. Hopefully.

Ventus touched down in the dining hall less than three minutes later, totally and utterly out of breath, but also proud. Very proud. " _Mission Accomplished_ ," he whispered to himself with a wide grin. Aqua, Terra and also Eraqus, meanwhile, were rather busy staring at the exhausted looking boy.

"Ven?" Aqua asked, baffled.

"Um, you guys better duck!" Ventus quickly warned his friends, before jumping out of the way himself. It wasn't even half a second after that, that Vanitas broke into the hall, Keyblade brandished, and violently sliding halfway across the room right into its center in a failed attempt to break his own speed. Terra actually had to roll back to not be run over by the boy headed straight for his chair. Aqua, too, jumped. Vanitas paid no attention to the people dodging out of his way, or the chair he'd just smashed into a wall and broken two legs off in the process. He was much too focused on searching the room, locating his dedicated target.

 _"Where are you, Ventus, you pathetic, little-!"_

"AHEM! What is going on here?"

Eraqus' voice broke through Aqua's and Terra's shock, as well as Vanitas' glowing rage. The old Master rose from his chair and placed his hands flat on the table before him. His eyes were piercing Vanitas. The boy, however, just scoffed, "Why don't you ask our perfect, little Ventus. He's the one who thinks it's fun to steal from other people!"

"Says the one who still hasn't brought back the carving knife I lent him half a year ago."

"Shuddup, Terra!"

"That was _my chair_ , by the way!"

By now Terra and Vanitas were glaring at each other fiercely, like they often would shortly before challenging each other to a duel. Looking upon the carnage already wrought upon and still currently ongoing in this room, Ventus bit his lip a little. Oh boy. Maybe he'd overdone it a bit after all...

"Guys, guys! Calm down!" Ventus stepped closer to the others. "I wasn't trying to steal! I just, um..." He paused a moment. "Van was never gonna come here, if I didn't do this! Right, Van?"

"Wanna know what I'm gonna do now, _because_ you did this?" Vanitas ran over to Ventus, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. He raised a hand, whether to summon his Keyblade or just plain punch Ventus, the others would never know. Eraqus reacted quickly and went in-between, knocking Vanitas to the side."Ungh...!"

There they were. The dining table displaced slightly from its usual position, one of the chairs broken against the wall, next to Terra who was standing there with both arms crossed. Vanitas on the floor, Ventus eye to eye with a very displeased-looking Eraqus. And then there was Aqua, who had the pleasure of observing the whole mess. She looked as though she had a headache coming on. Frustrated, she let her face sink into her palms. This wasn't quite how she'd imagined the solstice morning.

"Ventus," Eraqus spoke to the boy. "What did you take from Vanitas' room?"

Ventus was still gnawing on his lip, "I... I took his presents. I'm sorry. I just wanted us to open them all to-"

Eraqus interrupted him. "Was that a good thing to do, Ventus?"

Ventus looked at the floor. "...No. It wasn't."

"Do you regret doing it?"

Ventus paused briefly, looked at the state of the room, then sighed. "I do."

There was an odd silence between Ven and his Master for the next couple of seconds. Enough time for Eraqus to examine the shame on the boy's face thoroughly. Finally, he nodded, "Good. As long as you can promise to not do it again, I will see past it this one time."

"Ah... Y-Yeah!" Ventus stood up straight and smiled, nodding quickly. "Thank you, Master."

Vanitas scoffed at what he saw. For a moment there he'd thought Eraqus was actually going to scold their shining boy Ventus for once. Now, that would have been something. Still, now that he was sitting on the ground his mind was a little clearer, Vanitas actually had to admit to himself that he was quite surprised by what had just happened. Not because of his own actions, of course, but because of Ventus'. The other had actually and willingly broken an unspoken rule between the four of them and even taken some of Vanitas' property just to bait him into following. That was... actually sort of clever. Ventus, trespassing, stealing, being sly... How was Vanitas supposed to deal with this information?

He didn't have much time to try to. Eraqus' attention had turned to him. "And as for _you_ , Vanitas."

Vanitas braced himself. Right. He'd promised the old man he'd never touch Ventus. Well, so much for that now. Now that all the wanton anger had dissipated, the black-haired boy felt fear rise up in him. What was Eraqus going to do to him now...?

"You'll spend the afternoon crafting a new chair to replace the one you've broken. Understood?"

He looked up, surprised. That was all?

"Understood?" Eraqus asked again.

"Y-Yeah... I get it..." Vanitas got up from the floor and nodded. Huh. This was absolutely not the outcome he'd expected.

"And you and Ventus will apologize to each other."

What was this? Kindergarten? Vanitas didn't understand what Eraqus was trying to accomplish. In the past, his outbreaks of anger had always been met by much stricter words on Eraqus' part, sometimes even dire threats.

Ventus awkwardly walked up to his brother, his face carrying a shameful expression again. He pulled his shoulders up a little, "Look... That just now was really dumb of me. And I mean, _really_ dumb. It's just... It's the solstice. I've been so looking forward to this! Can't we at least all have breakfast together and look at the presents everybody got? Please."

Vanitas looked at Ventus' face. It was such a stupid face. Somewhere between regret and embarrassment. He couldn't imagine himself ever making a stupid face like that. Just looking at it made him feel dumber for it, so he looked away. "Just don't do that again. _Ever_."

It was so incredibly silly. What Ventus had done was just a prank. Just a stupid joke, done with the most saccharine and stupid of intents. Still, just for a moment there, Vanitas had felt as angry as he hadn't in months. Despite all that happened, Ventus still the one person who could still cause him to lose control of his emotions so much more quickly than he'd liked. And now that little idiot had to go and actively _try_ to make him angry. Tch. Moron. No sense of self-preservation.

"I'm gonna help you with that chair, too," Ventus extended a hand for Vanitas and used the other one to awkwardly rub the back of my neck. "I mean, this whole mess is kind of my fault."

There he went again, doing things Vanitas didn't really understand. Why'd he want to fix the chair if Eraqus had already given him a free pass? Well, whatever. Vanitas wasn't one to pass up a chance of doing less work. Silently, he took the hand Ventus had offered him. It was a weird feeling for Vanitas, and it also wasn't quite an apology, but it apparently meant the world to Ventus. The blond boy grinned.

Yes, a handshake really wasn't the same as saying 'I'm sorry', but for Vanitas' standards it was quite something. Eraqus knew that. He observed the boys' interaction quietly, but with interest. This was the first time in many months that they'd seen an outburst against Ventus from Vanitas, but unlike the previous times, this time Ventus had actively prompted it. Even if Vanitas' response had still been disproportionate, it was far from the unprompted and mindless annihilation he'd have expected from him when the two of them had first come here. Ventus himself indulging in mischief was, of course, an unexpected development, to be observed and suppressed if necessary, but if that was what it took, at this point, to bring forth Vanitas' darker tendencies, then that was tremendous progress indeed. Eraqus couldn't help but smile. What he was witnessing here was special. Nothing short of a tremendous victory of the Realm of Light over the Realm of Darkness. He would have to share these discoveries with his friend Yen Sid as soon as he was sure of them. Perhaps this even meant that there was still hope for another friend of his...

Despite all the mishaps, Ventus still ended up getting exactly what he'd hoped for. If Vanitas had been more aware of this fact, he might have been more angry. Instead, he spent the morning together with the others, gorging himself on the unusually richly decorated breakfast table, filled with even more delicacies as usual. There were puddings, open sandwiches, cookies and pies, both savory and sweet. Terra and Aqua had apparently spent a couple of hours in the kitchen the previous night to prepare all of this. This was what they considered a proper solstice breakfast, it seemed. In the flickering light of the hall's fireplace, the group finally got to opening their presents. Ventus first drew everyone's attention to Vanitas' new Keychain, which led to him reluctantly showing it to the others. A silver wheel on a chain, like a gear, with a large black jewel in the middle. Aqua pointed out that it reminded her of the token his Keyblade already had and, sure enough, upon direct comparisons, the design was definitely similar. Further inspection of everyone's presents revealed that each of the others had received a new Keychain as well, the design of each similar to, yet just a bit more elaborate than that of their Keyblade's usual token. The Keychain was a Keyblade's 'heart', which gave it its shape and unique abilities, and while a Keyblade User's first Keychain was usually generated from an image in their heart itself, decorating it with a new Keychain would always result in the Keyblade taking a shape that best represents the owner's emotions, thoughts and memories connected to the equipped token. If so, then what did Keychains that similar to what they already had equipped mean? The Apprentices were quite eager to find out and quickly swapped their Keychains with a simple flick of their fingers. Their Keyblades transformed in their hands, taking new shapes.

"Whoa...!" Aqua marveled at the sleeker, changed form of her Keyblade. Its range seemed to have extended and the hilt was more rounded now, while the teeth had taken on a more refined, elegant design. Similar changes occurred to the Keyblades of her friends. This really was amazing.

"Hm..." Eraqus took a closer look at the Keyblades of his apprentices. "These forms appear to be quite advanced. I'd advise you to not rely on these Keychains until you are absolutely sure you can handle their abilities."

"The Master is right..." Terra swung the new form of his Keyblade, just to test. "This Keyblade is pretty heavy, even for me. I don't think I could train with this."

Aqua agreed. "Something about the balance doesn't feel quite right. I think my aim would be off if I tried to snipe with this."

"I'd be afraid of hitting myself in the face with this. It's so long..." said Ventus.

Vanitas groaned. "Why even give us these if we can't use them anyway? Pointless." So much for the infallible insight of Annual Gift Man then. Vanitas undid the clip on the Keychain and removed it from his Keyblade, replacing it with the Void Gear again.

"We may not be able to use them now, but as we improve our skills, it should become easier to use more difficult to wield forms of the Keyblade as well," Aqua pointed out. "These will definitely prove very useful once we come that far."

"Yeah!" Ventus jumped a little. "All we gotta do is keep at it and practice! Right?"

Vanitas had no response to those wise words. With a disinterested shrug, he tugged the Keychain away into one of his pockets and then turned his attention to the next box placed next to his chair. Much more than thinking about how or when he would actually get some use out of that gift, he was wondering whom that present had _really_ come from. From Terra, maybe? Finding a way to enhance their combat strength quickly seemed like something he would do. But then again, why would Terra get himself a Keychain he didn't actually find convenient to use? That line of logic ruled out Aqua and Ventus as well, which left only Eraqus, but Eraqus had also seemed just as surprised as the others that the four of them had received new Keychains. And anyway, why would Eraqus, of all people, give Vanitas access to a more powerful form of his Keyblade? Weird. The only remaining explanation was that the Keychains indeed had come from that "Santa" that Aqua had told them about, but that was ridiculous. Clearly something else was going on here. Vanitas just couldn't figure out what it was, and it irritated him. Maybe unpacking the rest of the boxes would give him a better idea.

The group continued opening their gifts one after another. Aqua received an armlet made of mythril, inlaid with several bright gems, which turned out to be a gift from Terra _("Paying you back for that Energy Bangle!" - "I already told you, that wasn't from me!")_ , a blue hair ribbon inlaid with thin gold thread from Ventus _("I'm not sure I did the weaving right... But the Moogle at the counter said the spells should work if I stick to the instructions!" - "Thank you, Ven, it's lovely!")_ , and, finally, a little package of seeds.

"Lotus seeds!" She identified the gift. "I've been wanting to try and grow them for a while now... The petals are supposed to work very well for boosting the power of ethers and regenerative potions. Thank you, Master!"

"You're welcome, Aqua," Eraqus laughed.

Vanitas listened up at that. How had Aqua known that this had been Eraqus' gift right away? That was when he remembered the way the old man and young girl had been acting when they discussed presents half a week ago, and something clicked. Aqua had probably helped Eraqus pick out his gifts to them. In other word, right now she was just pretending to be surprised, either to make all of them others impressed by Eraqus' gift-picking skills, or to make the geezer feel good about himself. Wow, that was actually kind of sad. Was this part of 'Solstice Etiquette" or something dumb like that? Oh well, not like it was his problem. He dismissed the train of thought and turned back to his own presents.

By now everyone had almost finished opening their gifts. Terra got a mythril ring to boost his magic defense a little from Ven, a book on advanced Kendo techniques from Aqua, and a sachet of almond pits from his Master. ( _"Don't break them open. These are for planting, not for eating. I hear they taste marvelous when baked into bread." - "Master..."_ ) Things looked quite similar for Ventus and Vanitas, both of which received a few Moogle-crafted protective bangles from Aqua. From Terra, both twins received a carving knife each, both with handles in different colors, made of different materials. Ventus' was some sort of horn, while Vanitas' was made of ebony.

"Maybe now you'll feel like giving back the one you've been hoarding in your room one of these days," Terra teased, patting Vanitas on the back. The boy grunted a little at the comment, then returned his interest to the knife. It really was quite a nice tool, and the handle fit his hand very comfortably.

Finally, Ventus opened his last gift: Another sachet of seeds. In his case, the seeds appeared to be flower seeds. He looked at them intently. What kind of flower could the Master possibly want him to grow? "Hm... Oh, hey! Van! Yours look the same as mine." He pointed at the seeds Vanitas was skeptically rolling in his hands, eyeing them as if he wasn't entirely sure yet they weren't actually a clever attempt at poisoning him. Aqua stepped closer to twins, taking a good look at the Vanitas' palm.

"Those are Morning Glory seeds," she said.

"Morning Glories?" Ventus asked, curious.

Aqua nodded. "They're used as an ingredient in simple ethers and performance enhancing potions. You need to be careful when taking them, though. Too many can make you sick or alter your state of mind."

"Alter your state of mind?"

"Simply put, they put you into a waking dream."

Vanitas scoffed a little at that. "So, you guys really are trying to poison me now?" he joked.

"Well, you're not _supposed_ to eat them raw," Aqua repeated.

By now, Eraqus had joined the three of them in examining the seeds. He looked rather pleased with Aqua's explanations and smiled. "Clever, Aqua. Yes, you are entirely correct, Ventus' seeds will grow into Morning Glories, which can be harvested for all of the uses Aqua described. However, the seeds in Vanitas' hand are a tiny bit different. Those are the seeds of the Moon Flower."

"Moon Flower," Vanitas repeated, rolling the seeds in his palm a little more. Again, Aqua had a comment.

"It's a special kind of Morning Glory that only blooms in the light of the moon," she explained. "Normal Morning Glories bloom in the morning sun and wilt at noon. Moon Flowers bloom at sundown and wilt in the morning."

"So they never bloom at the same time?" asked Ventus. "That's kind of cool. I didn't know there were flowers like that."

A flower that only blooms in morning light, another which only blooms in the moonlight... Vanitas' eyes fell on Eraqus, who still looked over his charge with a satisfied smile. So the old man had consulted with Aqua only to decide to get _all_ of them plant seeds. Okay. Interesting choice. This had got to be the old man trying to imply something. Just what was Eraqus trying to tell them with these odd gift choices?

Then again, maybe he was just thinking too much about these things. Maybe sometimes a gift was just a gift, and a flower just a flower.

The day was too much fun for anyone to have enough time to think about anything so silly or trivial as hidden agendas or subliminal meanings. They got to comparing their gifts, talking about them, reviewing who had gotten what from whom, then wondering where the four Keychains had come from. Aqua, Eraqus and Ventus, of course, vehemently insisted on "Santa" as the most probable source, while Terra and Vanitas scoffed at the idea. Aqua began telling stories, of previous years' celebrations, legends and fairytales from faraway worlds. Whatever food was still left on the dining table was quickly eaten up by the young mage's intently listening audience. Even when the bell rang noon, and the group prepared to tend to their duties for the rest of the day, Ventus stayed behind with Vanitas, searching for some wood and lacquer and beginning to put their new knives to the test fashioning a new pair of legs for the damaged chair. They made a competition of it, who could do it fastest, the most precise, just plain better. Eventually, Terra joined them to give advice. The two boys quarreled a bit, over how much of Terra's helping hand each of them was entitled to to make it fair and even. They each had wildly different ideas regarding that, of course. The more Vanitas got carried away, trying to make his part of the work more elaborate and impressive, the harder Ventus worked to catch up and overtake him. At the day's end, the twins were left with a chair that looked nothing like the one they'd started with, and which also bore no resemblance to the other chairs in the room.

"Well, if you guys ask me, this is the best chair in the whole castle now. Hands down," Terra assured the boys, before ruffling the hair on their heads with his hands, a gesture, from which, Vanitas, of course, pulled away quickly. Terra and Ventus laughed at that. Eventually, Vanitas laughed too. Just a little bit. The whole situation was pretty silly, if you thought about it, he supposed. Just like this whole day. He supposed he wouldn't have minded living through a few more pointless, silly days like this one.

* * *

 **Aqua** : Obtained _Stormfall_ (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

 **Terra** : Obtained _Ends of the Earth_ (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

 **Ventus** : Obtained _Destiny's Wing_ (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

 **Vanitas** : Obtained _Fate Blank_ (Put away for safekeeping.)

"A well-balanced Keyblade that provides an extra boost to all your stats."

* * *

The passing months came close to turning into a full year. Eraqus had set aside a small patch of grass with a shallow pond for the four of them to use as their personal garden, where they could plant the seeds they'd been given and tend to their sprouts, so they'd eventually be able to reap their benefits. Aqua had already laid out everything. The pond and the bushes by its shore were hers, where she planted her lotus along with several kinds of berries, herbs and fruit that she was planning to use in her cooking and her magic. Chamomile, aloe, salvia, rasp- and strawberries, lemon saplings, peppers and potatoes. Nothing Aqua planted was just there to look pretty. It all had a purpose, and she made sure to put every plant into just the position and spot it needed to be to grow and flourish. The plain a few meters west of that was Terra's domain, where he planted the almond pits, which had already sprouted nice saplings by the time he set them in the ground. He contemplated adding walnut trees and hazelnut shrubs sometime down the line. A few steps further west, there was a small hill. This patch belonged to Ventus and Vanitas. Their seeds didn't need much maintenance to grow. They just had to spread them across the hill, make sure they got enough water and wait for the flowers to take root. Aqua told them that first blossoms wouldn't open until summer, so right now what was growing there looked like nothing but a mess of vines to them. Somewhat unsightly, and not at all useful like what was growing on Aqua and Terra's patches, or so Vanitas complained. Of course, he clearly also had no intent of using the space given to him to plant anything that would require a little more care. This was just him being a Negative Nancy, as usual. Aqua knew that. She decided to bring a counter-argument.

"There is one kind of Morning Glory that can be used as a vegetable, actually," Aqua told the twins that day in the garden. "They have thick, orange roots that are called 'Sweet Potatoes'."

"A 'Sweet Potato'? I don't think I've ever had that before. Is that like a regular potato, but sweeter?" Ventus asked.

Aqua laughed, "Kind of. You can cook them in all sorts of ways. They're really delicious. And healthy."

"When have you ever cared about food being healthy?" Vanitas asked, and Aqua threw a sharp glance at him.

"Yesterday, when I mixed cream spinach into the lasagna you had for dinner."

That statement shut the boy up. Well, aside from the sudden gag reflex he displayed, of course. Ventus, meanwhile, tried to keep his mind off the fact he had eaten a portion of that same lasagna as well, and brought the conversation back on course.

"Anyway, Sweet Potatoes sound really great! Man, now I wish I could try some..." Ven looked at the vines of his own, probably very inedible Morning Glory plants curiously and with a hint of appetite. Aqua couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Well, incidentally, I did happen to buy a bunch of Sweet Potatoes when I was out shopping the other day."

'Incidentally'. Of course. Vanitas, who'd now finished expressing his disgust over Aqua's deceitful culinary tactics, felt very certain that what their friend was actually trying to say was ' _The entire reason I started this conversation is to get you interested in eating the result of my latest impulse purchase_ '. And, sure enough...

"If you'd like, I could make us baked sweet potatoes for dinner. I'm sure even Terra will appreciate that."

"Really? That sounds great!" Ventus tried to not show, but his mouth was clearly watering. "Count me in!"

With a smile Aqua nodded and showed that Ven's enthusiasm was very much appreciated. She then turned her attention to the other twin. "How about you, Van? Can I interest you in a freshly baked sweet potato tonight as well?"

That offer caused Vanitas to wait for a moment and raise a brow, expecting Aqua to throw up her hands any moment now and yell ' _Just kidding!_ '. When that didn't happen, he eventually started laughing and shaking his head. "What, you're serious about this? Aqua, 'Sweet' Potato. _Sweet_. Potato. I thought you knew that already, but the word 'sweet' and I, we don't exactly go together in a sentence. Or at all."

Rather than being offended, Aqua responded to Vanitas' laugh with a smile of her own. "And I'd thought you'd know by now not to judge things by their first impression."

"Hm?"

Somehow Aqua managed to make Vanitas curious enough to convince him to give her Sweet Potatoes a try, even though he feared he'd regret the decision soon enough. This just sounded too much like the sort of food Ventus would enjoy and, as it follows, Vanitas wouldn't enjoy. But Aqua had a way of proving her black-haired friend's perceptions of reality wrong time and time again. As soon as she presented the twins with their plates that evening, Vanitas realized something quite interesting: She'd topped the baked roots. Not just that, the toppings on his and Ventus' servings were quite different from each other. Whatever it was that he was able to make out on top of Ventus' sweet potato seemed to have caramelized in the baking process. Brown sugar, red berries and honey, maybe. It didn't really matter, it looked and smelled disgusting to him all the same. Sticky goo on top of a sticky mess. But what was on his own plate was something else entirely. Aqua had topped Vanitas' serving with a deep, red barbecue sauce, peanuts and what looked like small cubes of chicken. While the sight of it didn't make him gag like Ventus' portion, it did confuse him. This was supposed to go together? Really? Maybe he should have gotten a second opinion from Terra before agreeing to this. However, Vanitas' doubts disappeared as soon as he took the first bite. The dish was nothing like he'd expected. Savory and spicy, with a nice hint of sweetness in the back to balance it all out. When Aqua asked him if he was a fan, he was put before the choice of either reluctantly nodding yes or lying just for the sake of lying itself. He went with the former. If he did the later, she'd just see right through him anyway.

He'd figured out how these things worked by now. When speaking to or about Ventus, he had to lie, and the lies had to be real. They had to be internalized and make just as much sense as reality, because that's what they were supposed to be. When talking to Aqua, however, he had to avoid any other lies, because Aqua could smell lies like a bloodhound trained to chase them down in the most mercilessly jovial and friendly manner. Especially when it came to his own likes and dislikes, there was no point in lying to her. She would read the truth from his face and quickly make him feel ridiculous for his own lies. What's more, she never used his likes against him anyway, but was far more likely to use them in his favor, so the benefits of lying to her about them were minimal, at best. With Terra, lying was optional. It was a good way of messing with him and confusing him, riling him up for a good fight. Much unlike Aqua, he wasn't especially good at reading lies, regardless of type, but if he happened to find out anyway, he would rarely take kindly to them. Still, it usually only made sense to lie about pointless things to Terra. There was rarely a good reason to lie about anything important in this place in general. Much to the contrary, in all matters that didn't pertain his and Ventus' past, honesty tended to be rewarded in this place.

He learned. How to act around the others, how to correctly read their intentions, how to sort of avoid conflict when it was bothersome and how to provoke it when it made sense. He even learned how to laugh at the same time as them, if only a little. The point of that, he still didn't know. It just seemed right, somehow. It helped with the mood, he supposed. Kept their spirits high and kept them doing things together. In any case, there were many advantages to it.

Ventus learned things too. He learned how to tell when Vanitas was teasing him, learned how to tease back just a little. Learned how to tease Terra, too, even if he didn't really mean it. He never learned how to tease Aqua. Only Terra really knew how to do that. When it came to the twins, she seemed positively unteasable. Ventus learned how to swim, as did Vanitas, and then Ventus learned how to take shortcuts in races to try and overcome the limitation of his and Vanitas' identical speed. Of course, as this was a skill his brother had acquired long before him, it still rarely helped him win, but it did make things a bit more interesting.

Vanitas and Ventus never sparred. When one battled, the other had to sit by the sidelines for a while. Ventus didn't really know why, but the Master had said it was for their own safety. His brother had told him that it had something to do with 'twin Keyblades battling each other being bad luck' or something, but sometimes he wondered if that was really right. Oh well. It was Van's own decision if he wanted to battle with him or not, even if it seemed weird that his brother would decline a duel with anyone. Even if they never sparred with each other, there were other things they did together. They raced a lot. Whenever there was anything to decide, to discuss, to fight over, or just to mildly disagree over, they'd kick off and dash through the castle's gardens and hallways. It was their main way of competing (as Vanitas thought of it) and playing (which was what Ventus considered it.) A sport they both enjoyed immensely in spite of all their differences. Sometimes, they'd vary it up a little, try their hand at other kinds of challenges, but they were rarely evenly matched in these things. Ventus tended to come out on top when they did anything involving acrobatics, for example, much to his brother's chagrin. In other things, however, it was Vanitas who clearly had the home advantage. Board games, for example. On those rainy days when they spent the afternoons inside and Aqua would get out that old dice game meant for quizzing each other on the theoretical application of skills in battle, Vanitas would make the session his own, mostly thanks to his uncanny ability to lure the others (usually Terra) into making obvious mistakes and then mercilessly taking someone's (usually Terra's) hard-earned spaces from them. Actually, Vanitas was probably the only one among the four of them who truly enjoyed that game anyway. One had to wonder why Aqua kept suggesting they play it.

* * *

Even when winter had long ended, the days seemed to grow shorter. Time itself was moving faster. The world around the 'twins' seemed to finally be moving at their own speed. Everything continued to fall into place, forming a clear image of what each of them considered a 'perfect day'. How life should be. How it was. Sure, not every day was wonderful. They'd fight sometimes, make plans that would end up not working out, have trouble with their training, do things that would get them into trouble with their Master... Actually, incidents like that, occasional as they were, tended to be caused by the actions and behavior of one of them specifically. More than half the time when anything went awry, he was the one to have started the chain of events at the root of the problem. And as much as he pretended that wasn't the case, he was aware of it. And the more time that passed, the more battles and feasts he shared with the others, the easier it became to laugh with them and the simpler it seemed to understand what being happy meant to them and how he could relate to that feeling, the more it bugged him to be aware of that. It angered him that, more often than not, he was the reason Aqua and Terra weren't - _couldn't_ be what they were supposed to be in his eyes.

It was a day after they'd finally rebuilt the dining hall. The hall had been utterly destroyed in a fire, the unfortunate results of one of their training sessions without Master Eraqus' supervision. Vanitas had lost his temper. It had been two years, and he still hadn't managed to cast even the most basic healing spell Aqua had attempted to teach him. Nothing would work. Not the meditative exercises she suggested, not the sappy stuff about 'happy thoughts' she kept going on and on about. No matter how much his thoughts, his emotions and even his perceptions of the world around him changed, he never managed to bring forth a spell whose power wasn't based in aggressive eagerness, anger or frustration. That kind of energy couldn't heal. Aqua's constant nagging and motivational speeches would never change anything about that. They were annoying and, at times, he felt as if she were mocking him with them. That day had been one of those times. He'd yelled at her and set the entire room on fire, using the magic he'd already mastered. It took them two hours to extinguish the flames entirely, another hour to cast all the spells necessary to secure the castle's structure and avert any follow-up damage from the fire. It was hard work repairing all the damage, and cost them two weeks that could have been spent training, battling, competing, just generally doing more enjoyable things than rebuilding and renovating a burnt out hall. Two whole weeks, wasted. The mere thought was so deeply, deeply disgusting. Nobody told Eraqus about the cause of the fire, but in a way, Vanitas almost wished they had. At least if Eraqus knew and had punished him, he would have something to direct his anger against and yell about, and yelling would help... with what? How exactly would yelling help again? Wasn't that how this whole mess had started? He was so confused. Things used to be so simple. Back then, anything bad he felt, those knots in his stomach, heat in his chest, frustrated headaches and the pain, they were all Ventus' fault. That was all there was to it. Now things were different. He couldn't blame Ventus for things the blond boy had no involvement in, and even when he did, blaming him didn't make him feel better anymore. Actually, he was starting to wonder if it had _ever_ made him feel better. But maybe at least it might still feel better than blaming himself...

The others would hate him if he ever harmed Ventus. He knew that. And if they hated him and cast him out, there would be no place for him to go. He'd lose this tiny, comfortable world he was living in, where the pain and the irritation that had once seemed inescapable barely even seemed to exist on most days. How come he was even allowed to live in a world like this?

So, again, it was a day after they'd finally rebuilt the dining hall. When Aqua was tending to her fruit, harvesting the crops she'd been forced to let sit while they were busy fixing the damage to the castle, she suddenly found Vanitas standing behind her, equipped with several baskets and a hand full of tools. He avoided looking her in the eyes.

"...I'm gonna help," he mumbled.

Aqua hadn't expected this at all. That didn't mean she didn't welcome it. "Sure. You can help me with the raspberries over here. Just try to be gentle when you pluck them."

That sounded like mocking again, but he ignored the feeling. No, a burning hall had been quite enough. They didn't need their garden to burn as well. Vanitas glanced behind himself. The twins' hill laid fairly barren right now. The Morning Glories had already wilted for the day, the Moon Flowers hadn't opened yet. It was summer and it was bright and hot, a time when he usually loathed to be outside. Yet, there he was, plucking the berries from the bushes and placing them in the basket he'd brought. What a dull, dull task. But Aqua did it several times a week each summer, of her own will. She never got frustrated or upset about it, and she never complained that someone else should finish what she'd started. She never blamed anyone for the decisions she made.

He kept his eyes on her while working, watching her from behind. They'd all grown these past two years, even his own body had matured somehow, as if it were no different from theirs. Aqua had changed the most noticeably though. She'd grown out of her old clothing and had to replace her entire wardrobe gradually over time. The height-difference between her and Terra also wasn't quite as enormous as it used to be anymore, though he still had a head on her. She'd also cut her hair, something Vanitas had been vehemently against from the moment he learned of her plans to do it. It was getting in the way while fighting, she'd told him, and she'd rather not fall behind with her training because of something silly as having to spend half an hour each day brushing and tying up her hair. He'd asked her what'd happen to all the ribbons she'd collected then, if it wouldn't be a waste to not be able to wear them anymore, but she'd replied that she could still wear them even if her hair was short. And so she did. Almost as if to prove her point to him, she'd kept a lock of hair on the side of her head a little longer than the rest and every day she tied one of the ribbons Ventus or Terra had given her for her birthdays or for a solstice into it. Looking at her like this, Vanitas realized he'd never actually given her a ribbon himself, or any present to be exact. He wasn't big on gift-giving, even though the others had never failed getting him something so far, not even for January 9th, Ventus' birthday, which he was supposed to share now.

Why'd he been so upset about Aqua cutting her hair anyway? It wasn't as if it affected him. None of the ribbons he claimed she wouldn't be able to wear anymore had been from him, and it was true, the less time she spent getting ready in the morning, the longer he could train with her and battle her. Still, somehow it'd just felt wrong to him. It felt wrong to watch the others change like that, almost as odd and unnatural as watching himself change. He cringed a little whenever he heard his own and Ventus' voices crack, a clear sign that they were deepening slowly but surely. Something about all these changes was unsettling to him. Especially when it came to Aqua. He couldn't imagine what it would be like once she was nothing like the Aqua he first met on the morning after he'd first come into being anymore. All the things he'd already learned about her would no longer apply then, and he'd have to start over from scratch. That would probably frustrate him too much to put in the effort. He'd rather she didn't change at all. It was a selfish way to think of another person, but that was him. Just another thing about him that made it difficult for him to see why he was allowed to be in this world, which clearly didn't suit him.

"Why do you guys put up with me...?"

Vanitas' question came seemingly out of nowhere. It caused Aqua to stop plucking from the strawberry plant she'd been working on and turn her head. For a moment she wasn't sure if she'd actually heard what she thought she heard. Did Vanitas actually say that line? A look at his face, and his expression told her, yes, he did, and it was every bit as surreal as it sounded. Calling this an 'unusual occurrence' would have been a gross understatement. Vanitas was often frustrated or in a foul mood, but he'd never admitted fault before, let alone scolded himself for anything. From his mouth, a sentence like this sounded more impactful than a tearful apology or a long rant about one's own shortcomings. Aqua didn't like the way it sounded at all.

"That's not a question you should be asking. We're friends, Van. Of course we all stick up for each other."

"The two of you and Ventus do. I don't think I've ever done anything to really help, have I?"

"You're helping me right now."

"Hah. Right. There's a first time for everything."

Aqua frowned. She wasn't used to this kind of conversation. The closest she could imagine was talking to Terra whenever he was beating himself up over something he failed to be perfect at, but that wasn't quite the same, was it? She'd just have to keep talking and hope she could find a way to help.

"This kind of talk doesn't sound like you at all, you know."

"Are you saying I sound like Ventus right now...?"

"Huh? No, you just sound... Like a very sad 'you'."

"Oh."

They kept plucking berries, as Aqua pondered the way Vanitas had just responded.

"...Why did you think I was comparing you to Ven?"

"Why do you think I thought that? Try me."

"Um, let's see..." Aqua lowered her head a little and thought. "Could it be... That you only ever look at yourself in comparison to him?"

As soon as she'd said that, Vanitas averted his eyes from Aqua. Bingo. She was on the right track. Time to keep going.

"You really can't tie your sense of self to how you compare to him. The two of you are separate people. Nobody's going to judge you two using the other as a measure, and neither should you."

Vanitas let out one of his familiar scoffs at that. "Heh, yeah right. Sorry, but that's not how it works."

"Then how does 'it' work?"

This was uncomfortable. Vanitas found it difficult to reply to Aqua's question straight out, and he also couldn't come up with a good question to return, so he paused for a moment. This was Aqua. They were talking about something he disliked. Whatever he said, lying was out of the question. So what was he supposed to say?

"I'm here because of Ventus. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be..." he paused again. "I wouldn't be anywhere right now. But he fits right in with you guys. He's a goody-two-shoes honor student, just like you and Terra. He never causes trouble, keeps his head down to Eraqus, helps everyone, doesn't break anything... How am I not supposed to compare myself to that? It's the exact opposite of everything I am."

Aqua's forehead wrinkled at that, "You think everything you are is disobedient, unhelpful and destructive...?"

"I don't think. I know. I'd have to be pretty damn oblivious to not realize that much."

"That doesn't sound like you like yourself a lot," Aqua said, before mumbling under her breath. "But I already knew that part, didn't I...?" She spoke up again. "Van, do you really think there's nothing else than that to you? That you have nothing in common with Ven or Terra or me?"

"Again, not 'think'. 'Know'." He finally looked up at Aqua again. "Don't be a moron, Aqua. I've been here for two years now, I think you already know how obvious all of that is just from looking at me."

"But looking at a person isn't enough to know what's in their heart," argued Aqua.

"You're looking at the one exception to that rule," Vanitas replied.

Aqua shook her head, "No matter how often you repeat that, I'll never believe it's true. That's just not how I see you."

"Well, then how do you see me?" he asked her, and Aqua started thinking. What would be a good way to explain how she saw him? Her eyes wandered across the garden for a few seconds before she finally got an idea.

"Let's say I told you that there was a fruit that's pitch black, has little hairs sprout all over it and grows on a plant that is covered in thorns. What would you assume that fruit tastes like?"

What an odd question to ask out of the blue, he thought. "Sour and bitter, probably."

Aqua nodded, as if that was exactly the kind of response she'd been hoping for, then put her basket away for a moment. Walking a few steps to the right, she bent down to one of the bushes there and plucked from it a blackberry. She presented it to Vanitas.

"Here. This is your sour, bitter fruit," she said, putting the berry in his hand. "Have a taste."

Vanitas looked at Aqua, then the berry, then Aqua again. "That's a blackberry, it's not bitter, it's sweet."

"That's not what you said based on what it looks like."

"I don't need to go by what it looks like, I know what a blackberry is!"

"And I know who you are."

For whatever reason it was only then that Vanitas realized the exact metaphor Aqua was going for. He felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. That could have saved them the past five minutes.

"I'm not a blackberry," he told her, groaning a little. "I'm the guy who almost set the entire castle on fire."

"Blackberries are sour. You got that part right. It's true, if you can't handle the taste, using blackberries instead of raspberries can ruin the entire dish for you. However, if you can handle it, if you can see past how sour it is..." Aqua plucked another blackberry from the same shrub and ate it. She smiled. "Then you can use them for all the same things you'd use a raspberry for. You can even put them together into the same dish."

Again, Vanitas looked at the blackberry. Then at Aqua. "So you're a raspberry," he said.

"A proud raspberry," she singsonged.

"This is a dumb metaphor."

"Well, it's all I could come up with on such short notice, so it will have to do," Aqua stated, before she picked her basket back up and noticed how heavy it was. "Anyway, I'm bringing these back to the castle now. Are you coming?"

He shook his head at her silently, one eyebrow still raised at the sight of the blackberry in his hand. Aqua left on that note, thinking that maybe a little space would help Vanitas digest what they'd just talked about a bit better. The boy who'd stayed behind sat down in the grass after a while, looking at the garden all around him, thinking about ribbons and spells and fires and berries and black, small creatures he hadn't physically seen in years. Then he thought about people, and how nice it was to have people who'd do things with you that made you feel good. Absentmindedly, he ended up putting the berry he was still holding in his mouth and chewed on it. He froze up and shook.

"...Ugh. _Sweet_..!"

Maybe he was building up a resistance to it though, because as surprising as it was to suddenly have that taste on his tongue, it didn't quite make him feel like gagging. The sour taste definitely helped. He found himself thinking he might try and have some more of these berries sometime down the line. Only if he was feeling very adventurous though.

He stayed in the garden for a long while that day, plucking berries and helping Aqua harvest herbs and seeds while she came and went, bringing their harvest back home. By the time Aqua fetched the last basket and Vanitas got up from the patch of grass he was sitting on, ready to return to the castle, the sun had set. Over on their hill the Moon Flowers' blossoms were beginning to open. They shone in the light of the full moon like small mirrors. Even he had to admit that it was a pretty sight. Even if planting them had been an effort, it would probably still have been worth it. Maybe.

Aqua's comparison may have been stupid, but he understood it, and he guessed if that was really how Aqua and Terra felt about him, then it was alright that he was here. Acceptable, just barely. Maybe he could make it more acceptable. He'd have to see about that. As little as it suited his nature, this world was a good place to be. If he couldn't be the same as Ventus and had to be a 'separate person', then he wanted that person to live here. And if he'd have to start putting in a little more effort to earn that person's right to stay here, then he supposed he could try. He'd see it as a challenge. Challenges were something he was good at.

The Moon Flowers were small mirrors, reflecting the full moon back at the sky. Light doesn't diminish if it is shared. For every flower, body of water or pane of glass that reflects the moon, the night grows a little brighter. Vanitas followed the moonlight reflected in the nearby river and the castle windows to find his way back home, and didn't realize that from the shadows of the forest he passed by, somebody was watching him, smirking at his silhouette.

None of this was _too_ unexpected. Yes, this timeline could still be worked with. The necessary fixed points and players were all still in place. All would go according to plan.

 **Gemini, First Half**

 **End**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Also known as "The chapter that was longer than it had any right to be."_

 _This ends the Slice of Life portion of this fic. Starting next chapter, we're squarely within the time-frame of the original BbS' plot. Look forward to Xehanort destroying everything that's good and right with the world. What, people don't generally look forward to that, you say? Well, too bad, this is Kingdom Hearts, stable, smooth living arrangements, what's that, we can't have that, not enough dARKNESS._

 _Writing this chapter was a mistake. Not because I don't like how it turned out, but because it took way too long to finish and I'm actually currently doing NaNoWriMo working on a novel (an original work), and the time I spent perfecting this chapter should, by all rules of logic, have gone into writing my novel. Now I'm 5000 words behind my goal, because I wrote 10000 words for this chapter in November alone. This part of the story also didn't turn out nearly as compact and coherent as I wanted it to be. If things were any different, I'd have probably given this chapter like 2, 3 more rewrites before posting it, but I really wanted to get it out and just don't have the time to work on it even more. I have regrets. Well, I guess it's worth it, though. Writing a fanfic may mean that I'm creating something I'll never be able to entirely call my own, unlike my original stories, but it's still extremely rewarding in its own ways. For one, there's the opportunity of sharing my imagination with people who're passionate about the same video games as I. Just seeing you guys react to this little story I put together, relating to or scolding the characters, making fun of their actions or guessing what they'll do next is positively thrilling for me to see. Please, keep those comments coming. They never fail to put a smile on my face._

 _Talking about comments, "Twisted Pxl" seemed a little confused about what I meant when I said I'd tell the alternate BbS events linearly, as opposed to doing one character PoV after another, like the game did. To elaborate, yes, I'm going to be following the Trinity Timeline (though, in this case it's gonna be more of a quartet timeline, I guess), but especially later on a lot of the world orders are gonna be swapped around, due to certain events turning out differently. Let's just say that Eraqus being on bad terms with Xehanort right now is going to make it a lot trickier for our favorite one-man hivemind to goad Terra into going where he wants him to go, which is going to mix up a few things quite a bit._

 _In any case, the next chapter will come sometime in December. See you guys then!_


	11. Fear

The morning mists peacefully laid upon the alleys and slopes like a soothing blanket, urging the sleeping city to put off awakening just for a bit longer. Even so, the morning rays and the dew dropping from the flowers blooming in the park signaled the coming of a new day. The sun still would never rise far above the horizon, a persistent morning that would only pass once the evening pressed near once more, leaving no space for noons or afternoons. Daybreak Town was a place where the morning light ruled like an ever-benevolent queen tending to her children subjects.

Soon the busy rustling in the streets began. Wielders, opening their windows and leaving their lodgings, meeting by the fountain plaza and in the park, by the lighthouse and by the town gates, then after short deliberation, hushing out one after another to take care of their daily duties. Just another Monday morning in the streets of the city of morning light. An especially large cluster of wielders had gathered by a billboard a Moogle had stuck a large piece of parchment to. Noisily they chattered and pressed past each other, trying to catch a glimpse on what was written on the posting.

"Aww, man? Vulpes topping _again_!? This is, like, the fiftieth time in a row!"

"They've got to have some deal with the Moogle from equipment, I'm telling you... No way they're gathering that much Lux with the same old gear we have!"

"3000 Jewels for a box of random fragments... I swear, that Moogle _wants_ the monsters to eat us all alive."

"Well, that's at least _somebody_ getting a proper meal then. Ahh, my poor wallet..."

"Argh, last place again? I guess it's table scraps for us with the rewards this week too..."

"What exactly was I thinking, spending all week at the Coliseum again? Stupid! _Stupid_!"

As crowded as the streets had become, almost none of the people in them seemed to move alone. The wielders were all hurdled together in their specific groups, sticking close to those they called their partners and teammates. Groups of two, heading out to hunt for Heartless. Groups of four, making plans to scout out new worlds. Groups of ten, setting their schedule for the week and handing out tasks to one another to maximize the efficiency in clearing their workload. Among all these little groups of people, talking, arguing and laughing together, only one of the wielders stood alone. A young boy, no older than ten or eleven, with short, dirty blond hair, so unruly one might have thought the only brush it'd ever seen was the wind itself, awkwardly stumbled across the plaza, attempting to draw just a tiny bit of the attention of the gatherings of wielders he passed by.

"U-Um... H-hey! Excuse me! You guys over there, you're Vulpes too, right? Em, I... I was wondering, could I maybe tag along with you guys for the week. I... I'm kinda free, so..."

One particular group of five ended up feeling addressed by the boy's mumbling. They stopped their chattering among each other to look at him for just a few moments. Then, one of their own stepped forth.

"Ah... Sorry, but our party is actually full right now. It's Monday, so we're pretty much all set for the rest of the week."

"Oh... I see..."

"Yeah. You know, if you wanna team up with a new party, you really gotta go for that before the rankings reset on Sunday. Like, next time, try asking on Saturday, okay?"

"B-But... I tried that. Those guys told me it was rude to try and join that late into the week, so I thought..."

"Well, anyway, there isn't much we can do for you right now. Still, good luck for you for the rest of the week."

"...Alright. Yeah, good luck to you guys too. Thanks..."

"See you later."

With a smile that looked far too artificial, the party leader nodded and then left, taking his team along with him. Left alone by the fountain, Ventus sat down and sighed.

"Great. That was the third party to turn me down today... "

The boy buried his face in his palms and groaned. Just then, a little pebble, knocked aside by someone's steps, rolled up to Ventus' feet. Frustrated, he kicked at it, shooting it against the wall of the tavern, where it broke in half. Almost immediately, the door to the establishment burst open, and out stormed a very upset looking Moogle.

"Whoa, whoa! Watch the walls, pal, _kupo_! You scratch the paint, you pay the paint!"

"O-Oops! I'm s-sorry, Sir!" Ventus leapt up from where he sat and bowed. "Won't happen again!"

"I hope so, _kupo_!"

The Moogle disappeared back into his shop, and as soon as he was gone, Ventus slumped back onto the fountain's edge.

"So I can't even vent, huh...?" Another sigh. "Why do I even bother trying anymore? I'm scrawny. Nobody needs a novice wielder who looks like they can barely lift their own Keyblade in their party. I'm much younger than most of the other kids too... They probably don't wanna have to babysit me on missions." He took a look up at the sky. "Maybe I should really just go home, back to my own world. Hand Chirithy my Keyblade and pretend none of this ever happened..."

The clouds in the sky and the plumes of morning fog passing by looked so similar, it was hard to tell where one ended and where the other began. He wondered about that for a little. If he had wings and could really fly, would touching the clouds feel different from the cold touch of the fog down here? If that were so, it might at least make his way back home a bit more interesting. As it was he was ashamed to return. He'd left with such big hopes and would come back with so little achieved.

Sometimes he swore he could hear the other wielders talk behind his back. They said things like ' _Look at that kid, should he really be doing missions alone? He looks so weak._ ' or ' _I hear that one has never had a proper party before! What a loner weirdo!_ ' He'd have liked to believe that after a while he'd just get used to it, but more than a year had passed by now and it still hurt. It wasn't like he wanted to be alone. Making friends was just very hard. Or maybe he was just bad at it. He really didn't know anymore. As Ventus sat there, contemplating how to tell somebody as imposing as a Keyblade Master that you are quitting their Union and turning in your Keyblade, something was suddenly blocking his view of the sky and a voice addressed him.

"Hey, did I hear that right just now? You're looking for a party?"

Ventus blinked. Looking down onto him was a brightly grinning girl with very dark skin, long, platinum hair, crimson red lips and dark green eyes. She was clearly older than him, at least in her mid-teens, and right now the tip of her nose was so close to his own, it intimidated him. He backed away a little.

"U-Um... Y-Yeah...?" He timidly replied.

"Why don't you join us then?"

That had been a different voice. Ventus turned to the side, where he saw a girl who looked very similar to the first, with the same, long, platinum hair, except this one's skin was incredibly pale and her eyes were bright red. She wore a smirk on her face almost as intimidating as the first girl's lack of a sense of personal space. "You _are_ a Vulpes, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Perfect. Welcome to 'Vanaheim' - which is to say, our party. I'm Sigrun, and this crazy loon about to bite off your face over there is my sister, Gudrun."

The grin on dark-skinned girl's face dropped when she heard that. She began pouting. "Hey, I'm not crazy! Or a loon! Or your sister! -Oh, wait, I actually _am_ that last thing. But none of the others!"

She never disputed the part about biting off his face. Ventus made a mental note of that and swallowed heavily. Just what was he getting himself into here?

Despite these thoughts, he did not deny the sisters' offer. How could he have? A party! An actual party was asking him to join! He would have been a fool to refuse an offer like that. Finally, he would have somebody to share adventures with, someone who would go on missions with him and shiver with him in front of the weekly scoreboard once all was said and done.

Seven days later, another Monday morning came. Another day full of little groups of people, groups of people, talking, arguing and laughing together. Only one of the wielders stood alone.

Only seven days later, Ventus was alone again.

That was why, despite his justified surprise, he wasn't all too hopeful, when soon after the typical Monday morning gatherings had dispersed and peace returned to the fountain plaza, a young woman clad in rose-colored robes and a fox mask, Master Ava herself, was standing before him.

"You must be Ventus, aren't you?"

"Ah... Yeah."

He slowly nodded at the unexpected address. Only then did he remember to bow before his Union-Leader. Just what could Foreteller Ava possibly want of him of all people? Master Ava continued to speak, as if she were reading from a note in her mind.

"Ventus, of the Union Vulpes. Of the party-"

"U-Um, no. No party right now..." he corrected quickly.

"But what about Vanaheim?"

He looked away. "I quit. Two days ago."

"Oh. I see..." He was grateful that she didn't ask anything else on that issue. "Alright then, Ventus. I'm sure you're wondering why I come to you like this..."

Of course he wondered that. Nodding, Ventus waited for his Foreteller and Master to continue.

"To be truthful, it's something I wish I didn't have to do, but I have a great favor to ask of you."

"A favor...?" Ventus asked.

"I'll have to warn you, what I'm about to tell you is frightening, but I must ask you to stay calm and listen to me to the end, no matter what. Our future... And I mean everyone's future may depend on it."

"The future?" Master Ava hadn't even begun to speak of details, yet he already felt intimidated. "How could the future possibly depend on me?"

Ava paused, clearly grasping for words to explain what was on her mind. Taking a deep, slow breath, she collected herself and continued her speech to Ventus.

 _"Soon, there will be a battle between the unions. A great war. And then, this world will end."_

The ground and sky, both dyed red. The scent of blood everywhere.

 _"When it comes to that, everything the Unions have worked for will no longer matter. All against one another, everyone will fight."_

Screams, piercing the air. He knows some of these voices. He doesn't have the time to stop and turn. He has to keep running.

 _"There will be no winners. Only destruction. The Darkness will swallow everything until there is nothing and nobody left to oppose it."_

It occurred to him that even if he'd had time to stop he wouldn't have done it. He was too scared. Too much of a dirty coward. He was ashamed of himself. It was imperative for him to get away, to leave, before the fighting became truly inescapable, and yet he felt disgusting for how inviting the idea of just abandoning this battlefield was.

 _"When the time comes, there need to be people who can escape the fighting and continue on in the next world, the one to come after this one. I am gathering wielders who'll be able to take that journey. But I'm a foreteller. I can't abandon the battles myself. So..."_

All these people around him were losing themselves. Becoming lost. Dying. And what was he doing? He ran. Ran and ran. Getting the hell out of here. As if he didn't care, as if it didn't even matter, how much loss of life and light there was all around him.

 _"So when these Dandelions fly and go to find another world where all that was lost can be rebuilt, they're going to need people who lead them. There'll be five new Union Leaders to guide them into their new lives."_

He spotted them in the distance. Two girls with platinum blonde hair. One dark-skinned, one pale. They were twins. They'd told him that in the brief time they'd been his party members. There was another girl with them, one with raven hair who wore a black west over a white shirt. That girl was pulling their sleeves, yelling something, begging them to abandon the battles and flee. He quickly realized that that girl, too, must be one of them, a 'Dandelion'. But unlike him, that girl kept tearing, yelling, fighting to save Gudrun and Sigrun, who were intent on marching straight into their demise, Keyblades raised high.

 _"You are going to be one of them, Ventus."_

That was impossible. Master Ava had made a mistake. How could he be someone who was going to guide the people who would decide the future? Such a role required courage. He was just scared. When he heard Sigrun insulting the girl trying to help her and Gudrun, pushing her away, he was still just scared. When the twins just ran right past him, not even noticing his presence, he was still just scared. And when the noise of the battle behind him intensified and he ran faster to hurry and join up with the other Dandelions, he was still just scared.

He was no leader, no seed of the future that would preserve this world's light. He was just a coward. The world ended right behind him. Everyone he knew in that town probably died that night or on one of the following ones. Yet, all he did was being scared. Scared and alone.

He hated how scared and alone he was. And he hated himself for being so scared and alone.

He screamed-

* * *

He woke up outside of his bed, his chest trembling with every uneven breath he took. He was cold, because his blanket was partly tangled between his legs, partly spread across the ground, and his bare skin was drenched with sweat. What had happened and where was he? Actually, at the moment, even recalling _who_ he was was quite the challenge. The images from the dream he'd just awoken from were still burned so firmly into his mind, it took a while to separate them from his present. Finally, with a glance at the walls and shelves around him, he managed to retrieve himself from the tangled mess of memories that was keeping him glued to the floor. Wood carvings, some crude, some detailed, some fashioned by his own hand, some gifts from Terra. An old ornamental vase that Aqua had helped him glue back together from shards. A collection of stones, river pebbles, crystals and pieces of obsidian, some broken and rough, some tumbled and shining... These were his shelves. This was his room. Vanitas, with a groan, began to pull himself up from the floor. It was so stupid. Of all the dumb dreams he could have had, _this one_ had to have been a special kind of unwanted and unnecessary. He shook his head, silently cursing at the stunt his own mind had decided to pull at him.

These days it was rare for Ventus' old memories to come back to Vanitas unprompted like that, but it _did_ happen. However he usually tended to be awake during those times, perfectly capable of just distracting himself until the nagging recollections finally gave up on their assault and retreated back into whatever corner of his heart they'd come from. He rarely ever thought of the fact that he and Ventus used to be one person anymore and, honestly, he preferred it that way. As he'd learned, life was a lot easier when 'being him' meant just _that_ , with no extra steps attached. Just another human boy with his own likes and dislikes, his own present and future. Having a dream remind him of the fact that he however had no past to call his own alone felt like quite the insult to him. Of course, it was an insult courtesy of his own heart, so there wasn't exactly anyone to vent his anger at. Maybe a good breakfast would do the trick.

In the dining hall he sat down next to Terra and immediately started talking dodging techniques with him. Terra had become quite adept at sliding out of the way of their attacks as of late, so this seemed as good a time as ever to interrogate him where exactly he'd learned to do that, especially given that Aqua preferred cartwheeling out of the way of attacks and Ventus tended to simply somersault his way out of danger. Jokingly Vanitas suggested that Terra might have copied the idea from Vanitas' own preference to flash-step out of harm's way, but of course Terra dismissed that, telling the boy to not get cocky. He got it from the Master, Terra claimed. Eraqus had told him that it was the best way for him to handle the twins' speedy attack-pattern, he said. And, Terra added, Vanitas would know that too, if he just listened to what their Master was saying once in a while.

"Why would I?" Vanitas smirked, stuffing a large fork full scrambled egg in his mouth. "This way I get to annoy you about what a teacher's pet you are. Like I'm doing right now."

Terra rolled his eyes at that, then focused on his own breakfast. After a while of chatting, Aqua, who'd used the morning to do some of her chores in advance, joined the two of them at the table. It was then that Terra noticed that Ventus wasn't anywhere in sight yet.

"He doesn't usually run late for breakfast," Terra pointed out.

"Ah, I think he might be taking a bit longer to get ready today," said Aqua.

"Hm?"

"I passed by his room earlier, and heard something... I think he didn't sleep well. Anyway, I thought it was best to give him some space, so I didn't knock."

"You 'heard' something?"

Aqua didn't get to respond to that. Ventus came through the door to the hall just then, ending the conversation quite abruptly. Though, perhaps the sight of him alone was enough to answer Terra's question. Ventus looked a little pale and his eyes were red with some hefty dark bags under them. It didn't need a genius to see that he'd obviously been crying a short while ago. The way he kept massaging his temples at very least implied a still ongoing headache.

"Hey, Ven, everything alright?" asked a very worried Terra when the younger boy passed by his seat. Ventus jerked when he heard his friend's voice and took a surprised step back, but quickly got his bearing again, shook his head, then responded.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay... Just a bad dream. That's all."

Vanitas listened up at that. "Bad dream about what?" he asked.

"Dunno," Ventus sighed, taking one of the chair and sitting down with the others. "I don't remember the details. Just that it was..." he paused. "No... Nevermind, you guys."

' _Scary_ '. If he had to guess, Vanitas would say that that was the word Ventus had cut himself off at. The dream had scared him and he didn't want to admit it, because the dream itself had made him feel bad about being scared in the first place. Well, that was his guess at least. He would never have claimed he knew what exactly was going on in Ventus' head, which was a good thing, but it still seemed pretty evident to him that Ventus' bad dream that night must have been the same as Vanitas' own. That wasn't surprising, given their link, but it still didn't explain where that dream had come from in the first place. Was it one of Ventus' dreams which Vanitas had seen, or had Ventus somehow shared one of Vanitas' dreams? And why, after four years of putting all of that behind them, did the old Ventus' memories suddenly decide to pop up like that again? Vanitas cursed at himself when he found himself absentmindedly stabbing his eggs with his fork, pondering that question. Just when he'd finally gotten that dumb dream out of his head! Couldn't Ventus at least have tried to wash his face and freshen up before coming in here and putting this back on his plate? It bugged him to have a constant reminder of his recent night-terror sitting across the table from him. Then again, Ventus generally still had a way of getting under his skin. There wasn't anything Ventus himself could have done about that either, Vanitas knew. It was just part of their nature, he supposed.

"You don't look too hot either," Terra helpfully pointed out, when he saw Vanitas making a disgruntled and tired face at his eggs.

"Your _face_ doesn't look too hot, but I don't point that out every time I see you, now do I?" the boy snarled back.

Aqua fumbled with and accidentally dropped her fork upon hearing that incredibly childish comment. Clearly, she was holding in a quite unwarranted giggle.

"H-Hey!" Once again, Vanitas had managed to strike one of Terra's nerves. "I was just saying, I don't think either you _or_ Ven slept well last night. Did the two of you do anything after dark, or...?"

Ventus, however, shook his head. "I went straight to bed after training. I was beat."

"I wasn't with him tonight," said Vanitas. "And that's all I'll tell you."

"The two of you might be coming down with something," Aqua suggested. "Maybe you should try to rest for the day."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you kidding? I'm not starring at the ceiling all day doing nothing just because of some missed beauty sleep."

"He's right, you guys. Don't worry about us," Ventus shook his head some more, trying to get it clear. "I'm just a little tired, nothing to it. I can still train and all."

Aqua and Terra threw each other a round of questioning and worried looks, but ultimately decided to support the twins' judgment with a mutual shrug. " 'Aight," Terra replied. "But if anything feels off, you gotta tell us right away. That goes especially for you, Ven."

"Hey, what'cha mean by that!" Ventus pouted. He seemed a quite more awake all of a sudden. "C'mon Terra, I'm not a kid, y'know. I can take care of myself."

Vanitas snorted at that. "He sure can. Just remember to keep all heavy or sharp objects out of his reach and make sure he finishes his veggies and is in bed by nine."

"You're not helping, Van!"

"Good. I wasn't trying to help."

An insulted scowl and a confident smirk met each other as the two boys paused their breakfast for a moment. Aqua couldn't help but laugh a little. She was too used to this routine by now to find how much of a reaction it still elicited from either of them anything else but amusing. "Not to interrupt your fun, but aren't you two going to finish your food? It's going cold, you know."

That warning was enough refocus at least Ventus' attention. He quickly returned to eating his eggs, and Vanitas, now lacking anything else to do, soon followed suit. The group of four continued their meal relatively calmly until a short while later, when Master Eraqus decided to join them at the table. Taking only a quick drink of orange juice, he soon tapped a spoon against his cup and called his students' attention to him.

"As you all know," he began. "Last week we celebrated Aqua's nineteenth birthday."

Terra and Ventus took the chance to clap a little and congratulate Aqua again that way. Vanitas joined in a few seconds late, only in sync with the other two for the final three claps. Eraqus then motioned them to quiet down, and as soon as they did he continued his speech.

"With this, both, Aqua and Terra have reached the age of maturity, as designated by our forbearers. They are now officially considered adults by our laws. Which, of course, means..."

It took a few seconds, but soon it began to dawn to all those present at this table what exactly Eraqus was getting at. Thus, the wielders' breaths stocked and, even more, Terra's eyes grew wide and his whole body tensed up. Nobody dared make a sound as Eraqus continued to speak.

"I have considered it carefully and, after deliberation with my old friend, Yen Sid, I have decided that it is time. Aqua, Terra, my trusted students. I've been observing the progress of your training for many years now, and I've come to the conclusion that both of you have already shown the Mark of Mastery. In one week time we will perform the ceremony that will officially name the both of you as Keyblade Masters."

It followed a brief moment of absolute, dead silence in the hall. Then said silence was broken by a sound, a noise. A squeaking. A surprised Ventus, Aqua and Vanitas quickly turned to check on their eldest fried. Yes, as incredible as it seemed, that noise had indeed come from him. Terra had _squeaked_.

All eyes on him like that Terra realized what he'd done and cleared his throat, his face red like a tomato. With that out of the way he quickly went right back to freaking out, "M-Master! You really mean it? A-Are you sure I- we're worthy!?"

The shine in Terra's eyes right now was the same usually found in Ventus' eyes whenever the time of the winter solstice drew clear and Aqua and him began talking of Santa Claus once again. It brought a bright smile to Aqua's face to see her dear friend looking as innocently happy as that. Ventus, meanwhile, looked excited, probably already planning out the ceremony's after-party in his head. And then there was Vanitas, who was still busy snickering about Terra's continued failure to keep his voice in its usual octave.

Eraqus looked over his students' reactions with satisfaction. Now, these were some good news delivered well. "Why, Terra. Don't you have faith in my judgment?" He responded to the oldest' question with a gentle smile. "I assure you, this is not a decision I make lightly. As I've always taught you, being a true Master of the Keyblade requires not only great skill and a sharp wit, but also the indomitable strength of heart needed to oppose the Darkness we wielders of the Keyblade are bound to encounter on our travels. Both, you and Aqua, have more than proven yourselves to possess all of this. What's more, you've shown yourselves capable of illuminating the Darkness right before you even where I myself believed it impossible." Vanitas did not fail to notice the way Eraqus' eyes wandered to him at that point. "I truly believe that both of you are ready to take your rightful place among Keyblade Masters."

"Master, this is a truly great honor," Aqua had risen from her seat just to bow. "Thank you! I promise, we will not betray your trust."

Terra leaped out of his seat, bowing even lower than Aqua, "Y-Yes! You will not regret this, Master!"

"I know I won't," Eraqus replied. "As I've said, my faith in you is far from unfounded. So please, both of you, walk with your heads held high. I expect nothing but well-deserved confidence in your own abilities as my equals of you."

His speech finished, Eraqus left the breakfast table and the hall. He'd barely stepped outside when the chattering started. Aqua's and Terra's heads were close together and they rambled and rambled to each other, about how long they'd been waiting for this day, how excited they were, and how important it would be to prepare for it, mentally and physically. Ventus sat by and listened in with a grin. He hadn't been training long enough yet to understand even half the ceremonial details his two older friends were discussing, but he shared their excitement nonetheless.

"I read that in previous generations, when Masters tended to take in bigger numbers of students at once, they held all kinds of examinations to determine who's really shown the Mark of Mastery," said Aqua. "The fact that the Master already pronounced us as worthy means he really must have great trust in us."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Ven grinned, before he went on to affirm his position. "The two of you have been working day and night to make the mark! I couldn't imagine anyone who'd make better Masters than you two. You deserve this."

Ventus was right, of course. Eraqus' decision did not come out of nowhere. For the past weeks, the old man had dropped some hints her and there, implying that he was running out of things to teach to Aqua and Terra, and commending their performance far more often than was usual for him. In all honesty, as soon as Aqua hit the required age, all four of them were at least somewhat aware that it now was only a matter of weeks, maybe even just days, until their inevitable graduation. Even so, that vague prior knowledge had not robbed the actual hard confirmation of its raw power at all.

Even just hearing Aqua and Ven talk about how honored and blessed they were made Terra's breath go faster. He nervously fumbled with his hands, unable to sit still. Eventually Vanitas poked him with a finger. "Terra, you _do_ know that you need to breathe out before you can breathe in again, right?" he asked. "You need a paper bag or something?"

The teasing shook Terra awake enough to allow him to focus on taking at least a few long, deep and slow breaths which helped him calm down a little. Then he could finally talk again. "I... I just can't believe it." Terra laughed a little. "I mean... I'm gonna be a Master! Aqua, we're gonna be Masters! It's really happening!"

"I know! It's amazing!" Aqua's smile was wide. "Just imagine all we can to do once we've received our titles. We'll be able to join the Master in his duties and help protect all those many worlds out there..."

"That means you'll get to see all of those worlds too, right?" Ventus deduced with shining eyes. "Man, I'm seriously jealous of you guys! You get to fly out there and see all sorts of places. I can't wait till I can go with you too."

"Same here!" Terra assured him, ruffling Ven's hair a little. "Don't worry. You and your brother will always have a spot by our side when the time's come. "

This conversation, as natural as it came to the topic at hand, brought a thought to Vanitas' mind that he'd purposefully ignored up to that point. A detail that made it hard for him to share the immense excitement that the other three wielders in the room had for the upcoming festivities. Losing himself in his thoughts, Vanitas began to mumble to himself. "The age of maturity is 19... That's three more years from now. Almost four, actually..."

It was late March. Ventus and Vanitas had just had a birthday in January. They'd only just turned 16 years old. Well, technically, it was Ventus who'd turned 16. For Vanitas, only four years had passed since he'd come into existence. Not that the others knew that.

"I know, it sounds like a long time," Terra put a hand on Vanitas' shoulder. It seemed he understood the reason for the boy's glum look at least somewhat. "But I swear, before you even know it, you're gonna be right here where we are too. I mean, the past four years sure went by fast, didn't they?"

Of course they had. They'd gone by much too fast. Four years he'd spent living here and training with Aqua, Terra and even Ventus. And now that they'd graduate there'd be another four year of... what? More training? Masters didn't 'train'. They practiced their art. They went out on tasks and missions, protecting, studying and watching over the worlds. That was what Aqua and Terra's lives would be dedicated to from now on. If so, where did that leave him? Training with Ventus, he supposed, but what did that even mean? Him and Ventus never dueled. They weren't allowed to.

"Cheer up, Van. Terra's right, we'll be Masters soon too, you'll see!"

'Soon' as in 'after another lifetime'? When they'd all be adults and everyone would have changed even more than they already did? Would it even be the same once that time came? Would it feel the same? Vanitas glanced at Terra and Aqua as they giddily continued to ramble with Ventus, painting bright, colorful pictures of what their future would be like from now on. Vanitas considered joining in, just for the heck of it, but he found he couldn't. More and more a thought blanketed his mind, the idea that this future the three of them were talking about didn't include him. And he hated it.

* * *

He knew it was selfish to prioritize his own feelings over those of the others. Terra's incredible joy especially should have more than outweighed his own pettiness in importance. But it was difficult for him to just force those emotions out of the picture. They were still those same ugly little creatures as back then, loudly squirming in their cage, shrieking and demanding to be fed and released. Even so, these days he usually tried to ignore their noise.

He'd learned that there were a lot of things in life that were easier without being selfish. When you put another's needs before your own, others would begin to do the same in return, or at least, that's how it was with Aqua and Terra. Once he'd begun giving them gifts for birthdays and solstices, he quickly observed how the gifts they gave back to him became more elaborate, more tailored to his likes and desires. Additionally, he also quickly realized how nicely challenging finding good gifts for them could be. The more effort he put into it, the more satisfying it was to observe the expressions on their faces when they opened it. It was like a game, in a way. The winning condition was causing them to smile at him once the gift wrapping came off. It was a game he'd gotten very good at winning. With every new occasion, he'd try to outdo himself, if only just to prove a point. What that point was? He wasn't too sure. But it definitely felt like a good one to make.

Presents weren't the only thing where repressing selfishness had worked in his clear favor so far. Taking over some of the others' chores whenever he was bored and had time to spare could be quite satisfying, especially when it provoked gratefulness from them. In return, they'd be more ready to take some of his chores whenever he didn't quite feel like doing them. It was a giving and taking, and the more he gave, the more he could eventually take. Cheering on the others during training battles made them more likely to want to battle him than jeering did. Praising someone else's skills made them more confident in a fight and thus a bigger challenge to beat. It was easy, it made sense. It was a logic he'd gotten used to following much faster than he'd ever expected of himself. For two years now the others hadn't been merely 'tolerating' him with his antics. He'd actively worked to make life in the castle better for all of them. He'd contributed to their pleasant lives and in return, they contributed to his. Even if he still snarked at and insulted them here and there, he was certain that by now the others only saw this as part of a routine. Nobody took his outbursts seriously enough anymore to get angry at him for them, which was good, because it allowed him to have these outbursts without consequences. As long as he didn't break anything important, he could be rude now or then as long as he wanted. It was a nice compromise.

Of course, it wasn't quite the same for his interactions with Eraqus. The old man, frankly, was a puzzle. Often Vanitas wasn't quite sure how that guy felt about him. By now he often heard something like praise directed at him out of the geezer's mouth, but was said praise actually meant for him as a person, or for the marvelous job the others had done in taming him? He tended towards believing the later. Where Aqua and Terra would be praised for mastering complex battle techniques or displaying a commendable amount of foresight, Vanitas would be praised for doing things that could be considered 'nice' or 'docile'. Where Ventus would be praised for solving problems with unusual ideas, Vanitas would be praised for solving them at all, rather than just making everything ten times worse on purpose. He didn't appreciate that kind of praise. More often than never he seriously considered shattering Eraqus' nose with his fist just for voicing that sort of 'praise'. Was Eraqus trying to insult him with this sort of commendation, or was this somehow still part of his strategy of keeping him subdued? Or, finally, the third possibility, Eraqus was genuinely trying to treat him the same as the others, as he'd promised he would all those years ago, but he just seriously _sucked_ at doing so. Vanitas didn't know which it was, but regardless of that, there was one thing he was sure of, and that was that Eraqus didn't trust him. In fact, he couldn't imagine him ever trusting him. Even if he'd turn 19 years old a hundred times over, Eraqus would never see him as somebody worthy of being a Keyblade Master. He probably didn't even see him as worthy of wielding a Keyblade to begin with. Now, becoming a Keyblade Master had never been much of a concern for Vanitas, frankly, he didn't especially care about the title. Aqua and Terra leaving, however, was another story...

Vanitas shook his head and tossed another pebble off the balcony. What in the world was he doing, introspecting like this? Every time he did that, he only came out feeling worse for it. He should just have done something to distract himself from the thoughts, like cracking open rocks by the river to find more obsidian for his collection, or practice magic outside the castle. Or maybe he should just join Ventus with whatever he was doing at the moment. Judged by the fragments of excitement that were reaching Vanitas from him, it ought to be a better way to pass the time than smashing pebbles against the crag. With a sigh he got ready to leave and picked up the remaining small rocks in the pile he'd brought to the balcony with him. Doing so Vanitas caught a glimpse of the bracelet still tightly clasped around his left wrist. Silently he stared at it for a short while.

* * *

Everything was covered in whipped cream. The table, the floor, Ventus himself. Everything. Only the spongecake he'd been trying to top with it had mysteriously stayed absolutely free of even a single speck of white. So much for attempt number three then. Frantically Ventus tried to brush the cream out of his hair with his bare hands, but all he managed to do was evenly massaging the fluffy mix of milk fat and sugar into his scalp. Well, if nothing else at least his hair would have a nice shine after the next wash, he guessed, which would be in about fifteen minutes, because he definitely needed to get himself cleaned up before trying again. His entire set of clothes he was wearing would have to take an early trip to the laundry too. Good thing he had more than enough spares.

"Aqua always makes it look so easy! Alright, one more look at the instructions... What am I doing wrong?" Ventus opened up the cookbook on the table before him one more time, carefully trying to not get any cream on the pages. "Spread whipped cream on top of lower spongecake layer, add the second layer, spread whipped cream on the cake's outside, top with strawberries... That's what I'm trying to do! It just won't stick... Hmpf..."

Clearly, this had to be some kind of technical failure on his part, some sort of nuance of the art of cake decorating that he simply didn't grasp yet. The most obvious solution to this problem would have been to ask Aqua for help of course, but that was currently not an option. No, this cake was going to be a surprise for her. Strawberry cake for Aqua, homemade nut-bread for Terra. Plenty of sides too, also some meat, maybe a roast or a bird from the oven. He'd prepare a whole feast in the dining hall and by the time the ceremony was over he'd get to see everyone's surprised, happy faces when he led them into the hall to have dinner together, everyone getting to eat their favorite. Of course, first he'd have to make sure he actually knew how to cook and bake all of it...

"Hm..." Ventus looked over the mess in the kitchen and pondered what to do next. "Maybe I could ask Van if he wants to help? ...No way, he hates sweets! He's just gonna tell me to scrap the cake altogether!"

What a conundrum. The only one left to turn to would be the Master, but doing that felt so cheap. From what Ven had heard Master Eraqus had a lifetime worth of experience baking. If the cake turned out perfect just because he got advice from the Master, wouldn't that make the whole thing a lot less special? No, Ventus had to do this himself, absolutely Master-less. Otherwise his graduation gift to Aqua and Terra wouldn't be his own.

"It's gonna be the last time we all have dinner together like apprentices, so it has to be perfect. I can't let Aqua and Terra go out to other worlds without remembering that evening as-"

 _'They're going to leave. I'll be left behind.'_

Ventus shook and stumbled. He quickly grasped his forehead in his palm. What was that? For a moment he'd thought he'd 'heard' something. A bit like words, but not quite. Ah, right. _That_ again. It happened sometimes.

' _Dissociation_ ', Aqua had called it after he'd asked her to help him look it up in the library once. Sometimes he felt as if he was having thoughts that weren't his own. As if another's voice was whispering them right into his mind. Those thoughts often confused him, since usually they made no sense with how he was feeling at the moment. Sometimes they didn't even fit with what he'd been thinking just seconds before. Despite that Aqua had assured him that those other thoughts were still his own, and he supposed that made sense. After all who else should be thinking thoughts into his mind but himself? Even so, something about that still didn't quite feel right.

 _'They're going to leave. I'll be left behind,'_ Ventus repeated the thought to himself. ' _But this is what Aqua and Terra have been dreaming of. What_ _ **we've**_ _been dreaming of. They're not leaving me behind! Things are just going to change a little. Right?'_

Ventus looked at his dirty hands for a while, then bit his lip. "I guess that _is_ a little scary, though... The fact that everything's going to change." He shook his head. "Wait, what am I saying? Even if we don't see each other as often, Terra's still Terra and Aqua's still Aqua. We'll all always be a team. I know that!"

He slapped his hands onto his cheeks a couple of times, hoping to clear the confusing thoughts from his mind, but it was too late and he was already finding himself wondering about them some more, which frustrated him a little. Even though Ventus was so excited for the ceremony, now he could feel a twinge of doubt.

"What am I... scared of?" Ventus took a deep breath and sighed. Ah, of course. 'Scared'. He was just being a scaredy-cat again, wasn't he? Scared of random eventualities, just as he was scared of his own dreams. Shouldn't he have outgrown that by now? He'd been training these past years to become strong to the point the others could be proud of him. He wanted all the faith Terra had in him to be justified. "C'mon, Ven. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of," he told himself. "Aqua and Terra are going to be great Masters, I'll come join them soon enough. I just gotta stay at it. Yeah."

That thought made him happy. It was a great one, really. He decided to stick with this line of thinking for now, at very least until after the ceremony. There'd still be enough time to worry about whether or not he liked things around him changing after that. He couldn't have timed his resolution any better, as just the moment he turned his attention back to the fact that most of his skin was still coated in persistent layer of cream, the door to the kitchen opened and someone stepped inside. Ventus held his breath, fearing it might be Aqua or Terra, blowing his surprise for good, but thankfully the one who came in ended up being the one person he didn't mind having in here right now. He smiled relieved.

"Oh, hey, Van! What are you doing here?"

"Asking you what _you're_ doing here," Vanitas replied carefully examining his twin's dirty hair and clothes, then the mess all around him. "Although, looking at you, I don't think I want to know anymore."

"Well, I'm making cake," Ventus responded anyway. "Or, rather, I was gonna go take a shower. _Then_ I'm gonna try make cake again. Oh, don't tell Aqua though! It's supposed to be surprise for her."

"Uh huh."

"Actually, could you watch the kitchen for me for a while? I can't have Aqua and Terra see what I'm doing here, so it'd be great if you could stand guard or something."

"Standing guard. Got it. Not like I have anything better to do."

"Thanks! I owe you." Just when Ventus was about to pass by Vanitas and make for the washrooms, he raised his head and turned one more time, "By the way! If you needed to cover a cake in whipped cream all around, how would you go about it?"

"I wouldn't."

"...Yeah, I figured." Ventus laughed. "Alright, I'll be back in 15 or so! Thanks for holding the fort for me!"

Ventus skipped out of the room with large steps, trying to reach the washrooms by the shortest route possible. If he stayed as lucky as he'd been so far, the others wouldn't spot him before he was done showering, and he'd be able to keep his creamy escapades secret from them for a while. At very least he knew he could trust Van to keep the kitchen barricaded. That guy wouldn't just back down, even if Terra stomped in claiming he needed to 'check something' (read: make bread) real quick. Yes, yes, having a brother who was stubborn enough to go toe-to-toe even with the super goal-oriented Terra had its advantages now and then. It wasn't easy to scare Vanitas into giving up on anything.

' _Well, that makes one of us_ ,' Ventus thought to himself. _'I bet Van wouldn't ever be scared of something as silly as 'change'.'_

It often felt as if everyone around Ventus was just a lot braver and stronger than him, but that was alright. As long as he didn't stop trying to improve, he knew he'd be able to keep up with the others. Nothing would ever stop him from staying by their side. Not even strangely frightening 'stray-thoughts' that came to him from places unknown.

* * *

Ventus gave up on cake decorating for the day after his fourth attempt ended only slightly more successful than the previous one and Vanitas, relieved of his 'guard duty', made off with a rough cut of plain spongecake with no fillings or toppings which Ventus had offered him. He was still contemplating whether to eat it or not. These days he was mostly fine eating baked goods without any icing or fruit on top as long as the body wasn't too sweet, but he knew Ventus. Chances were that kid had dumped twice the recommended amount of sugar and honey into the batter if only to 'spice things up' a little. However, once he actually tried and took a bite, Vanitas was pleasantly surprised. Looks like Ventus had actually stuck to the recipe without embellishments for once. In fact, he couldn't even taste a hint of honey. The sweetness was mild enough to be tolerable.

' _Well, the party's supposed to be for all of us,'_ Vanitas thought to himself. _'He'd probably end up feeling bad if Terra and I ended up not eating anything. Heh. Trying to please everyone, as always…"_

It was sort of ridiculous, really. What was Ventus even trying so hard to be liked for? Everyone in the castle already adored him to heavens high and back. Aqua, Terra and even that old man, Eraqus, none of them would have ever lost as much as a harsh word about the boy. There was really no need to put so much effort into retaining their favor. No purpose in feeling bad for every slip up. It seemed so… useless. If life was made of give and take, then Ventus had no reason to give any more than he'd already given. He was receiving more than enough for himself already. Perhaps this relentless dedication to effort was a form of greed then? No, that couldn't be it. ' _Greed'_ was a grave vice, a product of a heart's Darkness. Ventus couldn't act on what he didn't have. It had to be something else. But what that 'something else' might be, Vanitas didn't know. He just didn't understand. There were many things Vanitas had trouble understanding. Not as many as there used to be, but still a considerable amount. It was as if for almost every old question he'd resolve in the learning process of living in this world, one or two new ones would pop up. It was frustrating, really. Often times it felt as if the answers he was looking for were right in front of him, written out in a language entirely foreign to him.

No matter how much time passed, he'd never be quite the same as them. Sometimes Vanitas forgot about that fact. There were days when he didn't mind bright sunlight, days when life seemed so devoid of sorrow and so full of fun and pleasantries, that sundown seemed to come much too early. Right now however he welcomed the coming of the dusk. He was out in the garden, on the hill Ventus and he shared. They'd been having mild weather for a couple of weeks now, causing most of the flowers here to burst into full bloom a little earlier than usual. Still, the Morning Glory vines lay barren; the buds of tomorrow's bloom still firmly rolled up and shut. The Moon Flowers however were now beginning to open, slowly, as if testing the air to see if the accursed sun had finally left this world for the night. As the sky changed from blue to red and from red to purple and then finally darkened, pure white flowers began to open, shimmering in the light of the rising moon, just like the small blossoms on Terra's young almond trees and the waters of Aqua's pond did. Vanitas sat on top of the hill and watched quietly.

Eventually Eraqus would allow Ventus to leave this world, that much was certain. No way the old man would keep the boy's light shut in here, where he couldn't go around spreading it. But when that day came what'd become of Vanitas? Maybe Eraqus would just keep finding excuses, ways to explain to the others why Vanitas couldn't possibly be a Master or even just leave this world. They'd believe him, no doubt, he was their beloved Master after all, the one they regarded as a father. If so Vanitas would probably be kept here forever, a perpetual apprentice to a trade he was never meant to take up, a secret prisoner to this castle, at very least until the day Eraqus died. And then? What would happen after that? What would Aqua and Terra do with him, once they were old Masters, sworn in to protect the worlds from Darkness even at the cost of their lives? What would they do once they were told the truth about him?

Vanitas was scared. And he hated it. He felt pathetic.

Sitting here made him feel a little calmer, but it wasn't at all enough to keep his mind entirely off these needless worries. He was beginning to feel restless over it, just staying in his spot and focusing on the silence of the night became difficult. He wanted to get up and head back to the castle - That was when he realized he wasn't alone. Just a few meters away in the shadow of Terra's almonds, there was a silhouette. Two golden gleaming eyes he hadn't seen in four years.

Vanitas summoned his Keyblade and took a stance. Quick, no time to think. Where best to strike to hurry up and kill that son of a-

"Hello, Vanitas. Having a pleasant evening, I hope?"

The boy said nothing, but even under the cover of darkness Xehanort could make out how the child's lips moved without producing sound. A spell-word. ' _Time Splicer_ '. The attempt was futile, of course. Even as Vanitas cast his curse, Xehanort was mentally prepared enough to prevent the magic from touching him, using but the sheer force of his will. When the boy materialized behind him, ready to thrust his Keyblade into the old man's back, Xehanort simply turned around and raised a hand. A barrier appeared between the both of them, impenetrable to the Void Gear. Vanitas' attack simply bounced off.

"Ungh-!" Vanitas was thrown to the ground, his grip still tight around his weapon.

"Now, now. Is that a way to greet one's former Master?" Xehanort asked, a satisfied smirk on his lips. The raw impulse which had guided Vanitas' ill-fated assassination-attempt just now... It pleased him.

"Shut it."

Another attempt. This time the boy had forgone the time-magic and gone straight to teleportation. He appeared to Xehanort's left side. Certainly a good place to strike a right-handed opponent, but Xehanort was not impressed. He summoned his Keyblade into his left hand and deflected the strike as if it were nothing.

"I see, you have learned a few things in your time here," the old man spoke after pushing Vanitas to the ground. "Good, good... But not good enough. You are far behind on your true potential, boy. Of course I didn't expect anything else with you under Eraqus' wing. That old fool simply has neither the will nor the ability it would take to bring forth the raw power in you."

In the meantime Vanitas had gotten back on his feet. Now grinding his teeth, he decided to restrain himself and wait before his next move. Alright, relying on his speed alone obviously didn't work. Xehanort could read his moves too well for that. There also was no way in hell he'd ever be able to just overpower him. His best bet was to find an opening so gaping and wide, the old bastard just wouldn't have the possibility of defending himself.

"You talk too much," Vanitas told the man. "What, you just came here just to gossip about your old pal? That's cute. A grown man with the attitude of preteen bully."

"Feisty, aren't we?" Not one bit shaken by the boy's words, Xehanort stepped closer, that same smile as before still on his lips. "But you'd do well to watch that sharp tongue of yours. Certainly you are quite aware of your current position, aren't you? So why don't we spare each other the needless animosities? I just came here to have a little talk. Nothing more and nothing less."

The old man's words were dripping with a sense of superiority that disgusted Vanitas beyond imagination. Oh, how he'd have loved to just slice off the geezer's head right where he stood. Sever it clean from his shoulders in a single swing. However, as much as he hated to admit it, Xehanort was indeed and without doubt a lot more powerful than him. If that man so wanted, he couldhave probably ended Vanitas' life with zero effort. Just the same lack of effort it'd taken him 'end' Ventus, as he'd existed before... The thought alone sent a shudder down the boy's spine. He kept his stance. Alright, let the old bastard talk. He'd find an opening. Even an old Master had to have a weak point somewhere. He just _had_ to. "What... Do you want to talk about?" Vanitas then asked. His tone made clear that he doubted that Xehanort had any conversation topics that Vanitas would actually want to engage in.

Xehanort smirked at the invitation to conversation. "Ah, nothing too special, boy. I was just wondering how life has been treating you. I trust you are having fun playing games with Eraqus' young charges? And, of course, there is also Ventus. I must admit, I was positively surprised to learn you and that child indeed had managed to co-exist this long without destroying one another. How fascinating it must be for you, to live so close to him, not permitted to ever touch him."

Vanitas finally cut the man off. "Life is fine. _I'm_ fine. Or at least I was, until about five minutes ago."

"Really? How curious. And here I was convinced you'd be in turmoil. After all, news are making the rounds that a new generation of Keyblade Masters will soon be called to duty. Eraqus is about to take away the playmates that have kept you entertained for four years, isn't he? Ah, and what well-trained playmates they are. Truly Masters in Eraqus' own image. Or so he probably thinks..." Xehanort paced around Vanitas. The man's motions reminded the boy of a vulture, waiting for its future meal to give its dying breath. How Vanitas hated being in this position. He wanted nothing more than to claw that smug expression right off Xehanort's face with his bare hands. Just as he thought that, Xehanort continued speaking to him. "Oh, what do we have here? That raging fire in your eyes... Do you hate me, boy? Yes, good, very good. Let that hatred flow. It is your good right to hate. Such is your nature. Something as wonderful as that should never be suppressed, no, it must be fostered, nurtured even."

Being told how to feel about his own emotions wasn't just the final straw, it was more like a truckload of straws, crushing whatever might have been beneath them just moments ago. Vanitas' patience broke, and he tore his Keyblade up into the air, firing something from it. However, the moment the flame was supposed to hit Xehanort, the old man wasn't even standing in his place anymore, having simply disappeared. The fire rushed on, hitting one of the plants by the nearby pond. Vanitas' breath stocked for a moment when he realized what it was that was bursting into flames before his eyes. Oh no.

"Aqua's raspberries..."

"'Aqua'. What a beautiful name. She is the girl, I assume?"

Vanitas whirled around to glare at Xehanort.

"And then, there is also that boy. Well, a young man, to be precise. I've seen him come here to train before. What might his name be, I wonder?"

"What do _you_ need with his name?" Vanitas spat out, absolutely sick of Xehanort's self-confident tone.

"Oh nothing that concerns you, nothing at all. I am just curious about him. Call it a personal interest. You see, that boy happens to remind me of a promising young Master I once knew."

"Sure he does," Vanitas tensed up again. He had to try to get a hit in at least one more time... "His name is Terra, if you absolutely need to know. Not that it's going to help you much. You're not ever going to meet him."

Vanitas kicked off the soil again, this time attempting to freeze Xehanort with an ice-spell point-blank. Xehanort, however, merely flicked his wrist to move his Keyblade and the ice dispersed. Behind him flames continued to consume Aqua's garden. The crackling fire cast deep shadows onto the old man's face that made his grin look so much more sinister.

"Your tenacity is impressive, Vanitas. But you are weak. This place has done you no good. I would advise you to leave and hone your talents elsewhere but, alas, I assume Eraqus has taken care of keeping you chained to this tiny prison of a world, has he not?" Xehanort eyes were on the bracelet on Vanitas' left wrist. He examined it closely. "Ah, I see. _That_ old spell. He's put a collar and muzzle on you. What a strain that must be on your poor mind! I imagine the amusement of companionship is the only thing keeping you sane, all that raw power bottled up inside of you. Of course, that might change soon enough..."

"What do you know!" He was so sick of hearing the man talk. Again, Vanitas tried to strike Xehanort down with a quick succession of attacks, but each and every one of them missed its target. The old man had remained elusive. It was such small of an effort to him, he continued speaking in the same, calm tone, even as he was dodging Vanitas' swings.

"Oh, but I do know quite a few things, boy. For example, I know that as long as you allow Eraqus to have power over you, you will never find the strength to leave this world."

"And what if I just don't want to get out of here, huh?"

"Not even if staying here means being left behind by your studious playmates?"

Vanitas ground his teeth at that. Just for how long had that old creep been stalking them all?

"The clock is ticking, my boy. How long until Eraqus' students will have buried themselves in their task and conviction so deeply, they will no longer find the time to play with you? How long, until you'll have no worldly pleasures left that are potent enough to distract you from the empty abyss inside yourself?"

"So what? There's still a whole week until that ceremony!" Vanitas bellowed. "Even if I actually _were_ worried about any of that nonsense, there's more than enough time to talk to them about it myself. Unlike _some_ people here, those two are reasonable enough to compromise when I need them to."

"Hm, a week, you say? To the day, I assume?"

For a moment Vanitas' eyes widened. Had he actually just given the guy information?

"And you say Eraqus is planning the actual ceremony already! So he has decided to forgo the traditional examination. A surprisingly unorthodox decision for his standards, I have to say, but not shocking overall. His trust in the validity of his own judgment has always been quite unhealthily inflated..." Xehanort seemed to be pondering over what he'd just learned. Just what was he scheming? Vanitas couldn't make heads or tails of the old man's interest in the upcoming Mastery Ceremony. Still, whatever it was Xehanort was thinking, it couldn't be good. Nothing this man did was ever good for anyone but himself.

They'd been talking for too long. Vanitas was done with this. He wanted this ancient bastard out of his sight as soon as possible. One last time he attempted to teleport, this time staying on distance from his opponent and instead using his changed position to snipe at Xehanort with another ball of flame. It still wasn't enough. It still didn't take Xehanort more than a flick of his hand, not even the smallest sign of effort, to dispel the magic and leave himself unscathed. The old man laughed as the boy's fierce eyes met his line of sight once more. Vanitas began yelling curses.

"What _the hell_ is your problem! You already saw that Ventus was too weak for your stupid little experiment, didn'cha? So what are you still doing here! Can't you just go and find some other life to screw over for a change?!"

"Oh, don't you worry, boy. My presence here won't make the least bit of a difference to how this 'life' of yours will ultimately turn out. That fixed point in destiny has long been determined."

"You're not making any sense."

"You don't need to understand what I mean by this," Xehanort waved the complaint away. "All you need to know is that this tiny patch of tranquility you've managed to maintain for yourself will not last. Believe me, it's a fleeting repose. Even if not for Eraqus or myself, eventually you'll be bound to destroy this peace all by yourself. You will play your part in the fall of this world. There is nothing that will ever alter this fact."

In response to this boisterous claim, Xehanort was faced with loud, roaring and painfully fake laughter from Vanitas.

"Wow, amazing!" The boy yelled. "You must have saved up, like, what, four years worth of Word-of-the-Day Calendars just to put that speech together? Hey, I've got an idea, though! How about you just _shut up_!?"

"Believe me or not, it is up to you," said Xehanort. "But you can't escape your nature, just as I know destiny will be fulfilled, regardless of whatever little detours it may take. I've given you a chance to prepare your mind for what's to come, boy. You'd do well to not waste it. I expect you more ready to embrace your potential next time we meet."

 _'There will be no next time,'_ Vanitas meant to say, or at least something like that, but he never got to even finish formulating the sentence in his mind. There was no time to attack again, no time to speak, no time to even approach the old man, before he slipped away, back into the dark shade under the almond trees, where he disappeared into nothingness, leaving not a trace of his presence behind. Vanitas' fingers grasped into the darkness before he realized that fact. He now stood alone by the foot of their hill.

It should have been a relief to look under those trees and find that old bastard had disappeared. It should have felt like a load off his shoulders, allowing him to breathe freely again. Instead his lungs now felt tighter than ever, his throat burning with the acrid taste of smoke and charcoal. It mixed with the scent of humid air and fresh rainwater. The shrubbery by the pond was still on fire, but somewhere along the line it had begun to rain, and now said rain grew stronger. Soon it was pouring. The sky that had been full of stars earlier that evening was now pitch-black and instead of moonlight, the soaked blossoms of the Moon Flower now reflected the light of the dying embers of what remained of Aqua's garden.

He didn't even get to try and extinguish the fire himself. He was the one to burn Aqua's crops, yet the world itself had to be the one to put an end to his carnage. All Vanitas got to do was stand in the brewing storm and scream in frustration as the sound of a thunderclap crashed down upon the garden.

* * *

"Looks like the storm made short work of these last night... I'm sorry, Aqua."

Terra broke a singed twig of blackberry wood in his hands and sighed. The shrubs by his friend's pond had burnt almost entirely to ash in the previous night. While the lotus and most of the vegetables seemed to have been spared, an entire row of Aqua's berries and other fruit was now history. Terra expected her to be heartbroken at the sight, when he turned to look at her however, he found Aqua with an optimistic smile on her lips. She stepped closer. "It's alright. Raspberries and blackberries produce within the first two seasons and strawberries grow very quickly, so if I raise a new batch from seedlings we might still get fruit this summer. Replanting is going to take a little effort though, but, oh well... I'm just glad your crops got spared!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised," Terra put his hands to his hips and glanced at his almond trees. "I'd have thought the trees would be the first thing the lightning would go for. I'm glad I don't have to start over from scratch too though. I mean, I think this year's gonna be my first proper harvest. They're in full bloom..."

"I agree, they turned out really pretty this year," Aqua smiled, admiring the flowers on Terra's trees. "I can't wait to see the fruit. If the amount of blossoms is any indication, you'll definitely need help with the harvest."

"That's still ways off. For now I'm gonna be helping you replanting your crops." Terra knelled down on the ground and began to remove charcoal and dead wood from the soil, tossing them into the cart they'd brought down here with them. "If it's any condolence, I hear ash is pretty fertile."

"That's _volcanic_ ash, Terra," Aqua corrected.

"Wait, there's a difference...?"

"Hm, it's not important. I've got enough soil and fertilizer to fix the damage to ground if there's any."

"Well, if you say so. How long do you think it'll take us to replant everything?"

"By myself, a day or two maybe, but it'll definitely go faster if we all work together," Aqua said. "Which reminds me, do you know where the twins are? I haven't seen them all day. Maybe they would like to help."

Terra shrugged at the question, "I don't think we should call Ven down here. I think he's probably still working on that super-secret project of his."

"You mean how he's been holing himself up in the kitchen all on his own to cook?"

"That's the one. Don't tell him I said that, but I think it's pretty obvious what he's been trying to do in there, right?" Terra laughed a bit. "And as for Van, I don't actually know. I think he's been sulking about something all morning, but I couldn't tell you about what. I just saw him glaring a wall into submission when I passed by on my way to breakfast."

"Huh, really?" Aqua paused sorting dead wood from ashes and took a moment to think. "I wonder what's on his mind."

"Who knows. I mean, this is hardly the first time he's being moody, right?"

"But usually there's a catalyst for that..."

"Then maybe it's because of next week? You saw what he looked like when the Master announced we're graduating. He might be a little sour about how we get to go before him and Ven."

"You think he's jealous?" Aqua summed up. "Well, that _does_ sound like him..."

"You don't think it's that?" asked Terra.

"I don't know," Aqua replied. "You're probably right, but something tells me that there's a bit more to it."

Aqua and Terra kept talking about scorched soil, surprise cake parties they weren't supposed to know about, and the mysterious moods of one of their friends for a while longer, until the patch of land by the pond was free of dead wood and leaves and ready for something new to be planted. Later today, Aqua would take a trip to the nearest town to buy some new plants to set, and she had no doubts that they'd quickly grow to give a harvest just as plentiful as the old ones, if not even better.

* * *

Turning away Eraqus from the kitchen door was weird. Even if Vanitas didn't exactly respect the old man as his 'Master', he still would have never thought to try and give him instructions. Now he was here and doing just that.

"Ventus doesn't want anyone going inside."

"Now, why would that be?"

"How would I know? I'm just standing guard." Vanitas stretched a little. "Also, it's pretty annoying to ask questions you already know the answer to, old man. Just thought I'd tell you that."

Eraqus frowned, "It is equally 'annoying' and rude to bluntly lie, Vanitas. But that had never stopped you, now has it?"

"Hey, I can't help it. It's what I do, being of Darkness and all. Plus, I got a whole charade to hold up and all, y'know," the boy leaned against the door behind him. "What's your excuse?"

At that Eraqus could only sigh and shake his head. He had to agree with the child in one regard: It really had really been silly of him to expect a normal, friendly conversation out of the boy. With all his progress, Vanitas still had a lot to learn about human interaction and bonds. Perhaps a different approach was needed here. "I shall speak plainly then; I do know that Ventus is preparing some sort of surprise for Aqua and Terra behind this door and am supportive of that fact, however, I do not believe that this should impede my daily afternoon snack. Ventus is hopefully aware that I have no intention of spoiling his surprise to his friends. So may I please pass through without any further silly discussions?"

Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Tch. You're no fun, old man." He stepped aside.

"Thank you," Eraqus responded rather dully, as he put his hand to the doorknob. He was just about to turn it and step inside, when he found himself addressed again.

"Hey... old man?"

Eraqus turned back to find that Vanitas' expression had changed. The boy still stood there leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, but his gaze was turned to the ground. He seemed contemplative, in a way downright worried. "Yes? What is it, Vanitas?" Eraqus asked.

Vanitas took a few seconds to respond. "Did you ever see Xehanort again after that day? Any idea where he's been those past four years?"

At those questions Eraqus fell silent. Millions of thoughts he hadn't had to focus on for a long time came flooding back to his mind as soon as he heard the familiar name spoken. ' _Xehanort_ '. The sound of that word alone drew the warmth out of his body and left him cold and shaking. Not for fear, but for sadness, worry and even a twinge of loneliness...

"Xehanort... That man has eluded us since the night you first approached me. Neither my friend Yen Sid nor I have been able to locate him ever since that time," Eraqus finally responded slowly, trying to keep his voice steady. "But say, Vanitas. Where is that question coming from? Why is it that now, after several years of not as much as mentioning him even once, you suddenly decide to speak your old Master's name?"

Vanitas kept gazing at the floor, not allowing Eraqus to read his eyes. Still, the tone in his voice couldn't be disguised. He knew better than to try and lie here. There would have been no use in doing so anyway. "I saw Xehanort."

"You... _what_!?"

"Last night, in the gardens." Vanitas lightly pushed himself off the wall and stepped forward to Eraqus. "I don't know what he was doing here. But if I were you, I'd keep an eye on Terra. He seemed... _interested_ in him."

"In Terra...?" Eraqus repeated in disbelieve. What was he hearing here? Had Xehanort really been here, in this world, on the castle grounds? Even more, he'd spoken of one of his students? Spoken to Vanitas? What was going on? Why would any of this happen? Why now, of all times?

"He knows about the Ceremony next week. Maybe he's planning to show for it, maybe he isn't, I have no idea. I just thought I should tell you that." As he spoke Vanitas stepped past Eraqus, wandering off into the hallway to their right and leaving the Master alone at the kitchen door. What Eraqus was left with was a sense of dread, maybe even shock. A coldness that made it impossible for him to just turn the knob in his head and step into the room beyond. He had to think.

Was any of what he'd just heard true? Xehanort, here, in the gardens, last night, speaking about Terra, to Vanitas, knowing about the ceremony, planning to return for it, for whatever reason? It made no sense. Why would Xehanort return now, when he'd left with so much finality, so thoroughly, severing their bonds not just once, but twice? No matter how he turned it, none of the potential reasons Eraqus could come up with were good ones. Whatever it was Xehanort was aiming for, Eraqus knew that he could not be permitted to have it. As much as he wished to be wrong and to find Xehanort arrive here with nothing in mind but to have a friendly game of chess with the man he once called his brother, Eraqus had already made the mistake of putting his faith into this frail hope once before, and it'd led into Xehanort entirely dropping off the map for four years until today. Of course, there was also a chance that Vanitas was lying... But why would he lie about something like that? What purpose would such a lie serve even to someone as deeply mischievous as that boy?

A heavy weight blocked Eraqus throat and made him feel tempted to lie down and rest for a moment. Even to an old Master who'd seen many a battle and survived countless perils, what he'd just learned was overwhelming. The stress of preparing for the approaching ceremonies paired with this flood of unexpected information left him reeling. He would need to retreat to his chamber and think it all through, carefully. He felt as if he could hear the familiar sound of two boys' laughter somewhere far away. Two young men, teasing each other as they play games and test their wits, making bets and voicing theories. Often times when he looked at Aqua and Terra lost in their training or conversation, Eraqus would see himself and his old best friend in them, but as happy as that sight made him, he would have never wished the fate of the two boys in his memory upon his students. Having such a strong, beautiful bond end in such a fate was just too cruel.

* * *

She meant to speak to him that evening. What Terra had told her in the gardens had left her worried, so she'd decided to ask him about the matter herself. When she came to his room however, there was no answer to her knocks. It seemed that nobody was at home. How unusual, she thought. She hadn't seen him at dinner and he didn't appear to be anywhere else in the castle. Perhaps he was asleep already? No, that was wholly unlikely. The boy wasn't a heavy sleeper, as much time as he spent lazing around, he was usually just dozing. And anyway, it was much too early into the day for sleeping. Just where might he be?

Aqua knocked a few more times and called the boy's name once or twice. Then her curiousity got the better of her. Of course she knew she wasn't supposed to do this. Vanitas hated it when others came into his room uninvited. But that bad feeling she had wouldn't just go away if she ignored it, now, would it? She didn't like to brag, but when it came to premonitions, hers tended to be eerily accurate, and right now the idea that one of her friends might be unhappy about the fact that Terra and her were going to graduate to Mastery soon unsettled her deeply. If there really was some sort of jealousy at works here, she wanted to talk to him about it as soon as possible. Nothing should remain unsaid or unresolved once the big day actually came.

A careful turn of the knob and Aqua stepped inside. She did not call the boy's name again. She wouldn't have wanted to wake him should he actually have been asleep already. All she did was kindle a tiny light at the tip of her Keyblade and use it to spy inside the room. The bed was empty, as she quickly found, and much to her surprise it was also properly made, the blanket folded up neatly and the pillow fluffed up a little. How strange. She clearly remembered this bed being a total mess last she'd been to this room. Then again, that had been almost three years ago at this point... Now she felt curious. Even more curious than before. Seeing how the room was clearly unoccupied at the moment, she supposed it couldn't hurt to take a closer look, now, could it? Aqua glanced down the right side of the hallway, then down the left side of the hallway. No one was coming. That ascertained, she stepped through the door and lit the lights.

She was so surprised at what she found inside that she almost started laughing. This whole room, which had once been so empty and bland, with not even a single picture adorning its blank, white walls and the shelves looking ridiculously spacious holding only a handful of items on them, was now full of colors Aqua would have never expected to see here. The walls now held drawings, crude and unusual as they were. They were probably not meant to be decoration, rather it looked as if someone had quickly scribbled stickmen performing various kinds of battle stances and pinned them up on the wall in order to practice said stances in front of the mirror. Oh, yes, there was a mirror here now. Where Vanitas had gotten that one could have been anyone's guess, but Aqua had a good idea. After all, hadn't the Master mentioned something about a missing piece of furniture in one of the washrooms quite a while back? On the mirror itself, a mess of notes was pinned up. Things like _'Bungled aerial attacks_ _No chance to break out of incoming combo. Practice air recovery!' , 'Terra heavily favors his right side_ _Attack from left!'_ or _' "Stop" doesn't work if target is prepared. Approach from behind before using Time Splicer.'._

 _'He must have been training by himself a lot more than I thought...'_ Aqua considered to herself.

Of course, evidence of training wasn't the only thing she found here. There were so many other things. A reading lamp with a star-shaped on-switch right there on the nightstand, befitting the books pilling up right next to said nightstand. There were books on the shelves too, stacked tightly in an oddly disorienting fashion, almost like some sort of puzzle. There were wood carvings, quite a bit more crude than the ones Terra made, but painted nicely all the same. What they were supposed to portray Aqua didn't know, the items were all abstract to her. Small creatures with beady eyes that seemed oddly threatening despite looking quite silly, simple shapes like coins or medals, something that looked a bit like a Moogle wearing a white robe and something else that she thought might be either a grey cat or a dog, she wasn't quite sure which. She wondered if those were all things from the world the twins had come from originally. Maybe she would see them herself one day? There were also stones, shards of broken crystals and obsidian, as well as colorful pebbles that must have come from the river close by the castle. It was a quite sizable collection and every single piece shimmered in the light of the room's lamps in its own, unique way.

Finally, there were a couple of items Aqua herself recognized. They were either things she herself had given to Vanitas or gifts she knew he'd gotten from somebody else, such as pieces of equipment or tools. There were also a few items that used to be part of the castle's interior decoration, before they all broke down one way or another. Figurines, lamps, glass cups and other ornaments, they'd all been fixed now, traces of glue and tape applied all over them. They hadn't been put back together with the utmost of care exactly, but it was the thought that counted, and the thought here was clearly to undo at least some of the damage and restore a bit of use to these objects. Aqua realized, almost all of these things were items that had been broken in one of Vanitas' fits of anger or during careless training. One of the items specifically, a blue vase with a floral pattern, she remembered fixing together with him in spite of his protests against trying to do so, long ago. There were flowers inside now. A random bouquet which had clearly been put together without much thought or care for overall aesthetic, but it gave the vase a purpose, a reason to stand here, among all these other random things, who had nothing in common other than the fact that someone had decided that they should be here.

Aqua loved this room. It just seemed so perfect in its own special way. Nothing in here was flawless, everything was either crude, put together hastily or a little broken in some way, but somehow it gave the place its own sort of charm. It wasn't as focused and orderly as Terra's room, or as aesthetically pleasing and ornate as Aqua's own room. Definitely not as playfully decorated and full of sweet dreams as Ventus' room either. Every item displayed here probably had a story to tell, and its owner surely remembered every single one of them. Why else would he have kept all these things without ever throwing them away? Even if it hadn't been Vanitas' outright intention in gathering them all, this once empty room of his was now stuffed to the brim, filled with countless memories. Aqua thought it was very fitting. She smiled.

"He's going to be okay," she said to herself. "Even if he doesn't realize it yet, he's got nothing to be afraid of. Not anymore."

She left the room quietly, not leaving behind a single piece of evidence that she'd ever been there. That night she didn't get to talk to Vanitas as she'd planned to, and she never learned that this was because up on the roof of the castle a boy sat alone, gazing at the sky and wondering how cold and lonely the wide, empty space between any given two stars must be.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Did I say "December"? Ahem, clearly I meant "early January"! Yeah... Ahem..._

 _December ended up being a lot more busy than I expected it to be. Couple that with the unexpected length of this chapter and you got the reason for the delay. So yeah, sorry. I'll try to make the chapters a bit shorter again. I guess I've been overdoing it a bit with the description._

 _As you can clearly tell from the early portion of this chapter, I've been playing - not to say, enduring - Kingdom Hearts Union X lately. If I ended up spoiling anyone with the aspects of the game I put into this chapter, I'm really sorry, but trust me, you're probably better off watching the game's cutscenes online than actually playing it for yourself. The game itself isn't half bad, I really do enjoy the story mode (Ephemer(a), Skuld and Ava are probably some of my favorite characters the series has ever put out, both in design and personality) but the International version really keeps piling on the Pay To Win aspect to the point that it's ridiculous. I hope they'll keep toning it down. This series really deserves better than being remembered for one of the worst Gacha experiences this side of Destiny 2 and Starwars Battlefront. *cough*_


	12. Wish

Ventus couldn't sleep that night. After half an hour of listening to his favorite record and rereading the prologue and final chapters of ' _Ultimania: Passage of Fragments_ ' (the third book in a trilogy, as it so happened), he still found himself restlessly rolling about on top of his bed, fully dressed and too anxious to even think about falling asleep. Well, no wonder. Tomorrow was the big day. Aqua and Terra were about to become Masters. How could one even feel like sleeping with something that exciting coming up? Maybe he should just stay awake all night then, Ventus briefly considered, before realizing that if he did that, he'd probably end up falling asleep in the kitchen or during the ceremony tomorrow and that was just about the last thing he wanted to happen. Alright then. He had to sleep. But what could he do to make himself fall asleep? Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, Ventus let his thoughts wander without aim, hoping that random images might eventually turn to dreams and that sleep would just come along with those dreams naturally. He thought of simple things, colors, light, a soft voice, a warm embrace, a blinding radiance, an image made of stained glass, waves, the scent of salt, the brilliant stars in the sky- Huh, what was that? For a moment it felt like this was actually going somewhere, but before Ventus knew it he was wide awake again, starring at the ceiling of his room, not sure what he'd just been thinking about. It had almost felt like remembering something, but then again, not quite. Oh well. Now he could add ' _wondering about these weird thoughts I've been having_ ' to the list of things that would continue to keep him awake tonight.

This wasn't working. Try as he may, he wasn't going to get a minute of sleep like this. With a defeated sigh, Ventus sat up on his bed, pulling his knees close and resting one arm on them. If he couldn't fall asleep, then how was he going to be all there to celebrate with the others tomorrow? A truckload of coffee, maybe...? Ven was still contemplating just how black and deeply, grossly bitter a cup of coffee had to be to keep one awake enough to make up for one whole night's worth of missed sleep when a glimmer from beyond his window caught the boy's eyes. He quickly turned to look outside. In the sky behind the windowpane a streak of light gleamed brightly and briefly before fading out on its way down to earth. Another followed soon. And another. And again. Ven excitedly pressed his hands against the glass.

"A meteor shower!" At once all thoughts of wanting to sleep were like wiped from his mind.

Leaping out of his bed and making a mad dash for the castle gates as quickly as he could, Ventus was already halfway down the stairs by the time he finally realized he'd forgotten his telescope back in his room. Oh well, no use going back now. He could still watch without it. Right now he just wanted to get out there to watch the meteors as quickly as possible. Who knew how many falling stars had already come and gone while he was still trying to make his way outside? When he finally arrived at the forecourt, one glance at the sky already sent upon him the next wave of disappointment.

"Hmpf... I can't see much from here."

There were just too many cliffs in the way to get a decent view of the night-sky. This came with the castle being built in a secure spot hidden in midst of a mountain range he supposed, but it didn't do his star viewing prospects any favors. Only one thing he could do then! Off to the summit of the neighboring hill he went. They usually only went up there during daytime to spar, but this was a matter of life or stars! -Something like that. He just really, really needed to get up there now...

On his way rushing up the mountain path, Ventus passed by their usual training grounds with the huge contraptions that Terra liked to use for target practice. It was on the larger of these two structures where Ventus spotted the silhouette of a person about as tall as himself, balancing on a golden beam and gazing out to the sky.

"Hey! Van!" Ventus ran up to one of the rings and called up to his brother. "You get a good view of the meteor shower up there?"

"Hm?" Vanitas glanced down at Ventus for a moment, before stretching and yawning a little. "Maybe I do. If you really wanna know you'll have to come up here and check for yourself."

"Aww, c'mon!"

Vanitas only laughed in reply to Ventus' pouting. Alright, arguing wasn't going to help here. It looked like he just had to play along then. After all it wasn't as if he was all _that_ pressed for time, he supposed. Taking a moment to think on how to best accomplish what he was trying to do, Ventus summoned his Keyblade and jumped onto the nearby stone table. From there he leaped onto the smaller structure, and then, using his Keyblade like a hook, he swung himself onto its top. Finally, he leaped off it, casting a quick ' _Aero_ ' spell to get more mileage out of the jump. With a little stretching, he managed to grab onto one of the larger contraption's golden beams and dangled off it.

"W-Whoa! A little help here, please!"

Vanitas pretended to ignore the fact that Ventus had just caused the carousel he was standing on - and Ven was now hanging off of - to move a good half turn with his momentum. Eventually though he took some pity on his brother and bent down to lend him a hand. With a 'thanks' on his lip, the blond boy climbed and joined the other up on the structure's top. Balancing with both arms, he gazed into the distance.

"Aww, man, this spot's a bust too! The hill's in the way."

"It sure is. Well, time for a plan B then. Where were you gonna go to watch it?"

"The summit, over where we always spar. That's the only place where nothing blocks the view!"

"Alright. Race ya there."

"Wha- Hey, wait!"

Vanitas must have obviously already known what place Ventus was going to suggest, because the blonde hadn't yet finished saying his line when the black-haired boy already pushed himself off the golden beam, dashing off along the path to the summit. Ventus didn't even have the time to be properly surprised. If he still wanted to keep up with Vanitas, he'd have to get moving already! With one hearty jump he kicked off, right in the other's tracks.

The boys dashed up the mountain path head on head, neither allowing the other to take the lead for long. Ultimately they didn't even know who was technically 'first' when they reached the summit together, touching down at the old stone bench that stood there. They quarreled for about three five, both insisting that they had won the race, until the lights above claimed their attention fully.

"Wow..."

"The sky's clear tonight, huh? Talk about lucky. You can really see everything."

Ventus definitely had to agree with his brother there. The sight of the meteors in the clear night sky almost made it look like some of the millions of stars above them had been shaken lose and were falling down to their world. Ventus and Vanitas sat down in the grass and quietly watched the spectacle unfold before them, as the song of the cicadas set the mood for them.

"Hey. Aren't you gonna make a wish?" asked Vanitas, nudging Ventus in the side.

"Hm?" Ventus looked up at the other boy. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah... Right. I guess you wouldn't know."

"Know about what?"

Vanitas seemed a little annoyed, but after taking a moment to sigh loudly, he crossed his arms and explained. "There's some worlds out there were people believe that if you think of a wish to a falling star and finish making it before it fades, that wish will come true."

"Really?" Ventus' eyes gleamed when he heard that. Immediately he set up and scanned the sky for the next meteor he could spot flying by. He pressed his hands onto his chest. "I wish for Aqua and Terra to-"

"They also say that if you screw up and say the wish out loud, you'll end up cursed and the opposite of your wish is gonna happen."

Hearing this addendum, Ventus bit his own tongue, stopping halfway through his wish. Still, he'd already begun to voice it, and now his tongue hurt, too...

"Why didn't you say so right away!" the boy complained to his brother. "I just almost-"

Vanitas however started laughing, "Relax. It's just a fairy tale. Like what you're thinking is actually gonna come true, just because you watched a piece of rock burn up in the atmosphere."

"You can't know that! If there's a lot of people who believe in it, then there's gotta something to it, right?"

"Oh, grow up already."

"We're the same age!"

They kept arguing for a bit, Ventus insisting on how worried he was that something bad might happen because of his botched wish, and Vanitas annoyed by that same insistence as well as regretful for bringing up that old myth in the first place. It was often like that; When it came to matters of idealism or miracles the two of them just couldn't see eye to eye. Eventually though they fell quiet again. The view of tonight's sky was just too special and enchanting to waste their time bickering over victories or wishes. The boys leaned back and relaxed, paying close attention to each tiny light shooting by until they lost count of their numbers. After a while Ventus' eyelids grew heavy and he closed them.

"Hey, now. Don'cha fall asleep on me now," Vanitas poked the other's nose, causing Ventus to flinch. "If you go napping out here, I ain't gonna carry you back home. Just so you know."

"I... I wasn't gonna sleep!" Ventus fibbed, quickly shaking his mind back to reality. "I was just... wondering about something."

"'Wondering', huh?"

"Yeah, like..." Ventus paused for a moment. The sky again had his full attention. "Why is it that when I look up at the stars like this, I feel like I've done this before?"

"Because you have. It's not like this is the first starry night we've ever had here." Vanitas replied.

"No, I mean like, long ago. It feels like I was somewhere far away. And there were lights... floating down from the sky..."

Something inside Ventus was stirring. Like a sort of memory, that wasn't quite his own. ' _Dissociation_ ' again, but it was a little different this time. It more as if he was floating, flying away on one of those stars shooting across the sky. He knew that place it was taking him. Surely he'd been there before. Only once.

The star he was following, that light knew that place much better than him. It spent every day there, it told him without words. It was its favorite place, it said without making a sound. It was a small light, but so full of energy and life, its presence was mesmerizing. Ventus knew this light. It was just as familiar as the sight of the falling stars. Maybe he'd met those two things together a long time ago, but if so he couldn't recall. It made him a little sad that he didn't know these things. After all this was a beautiful place. The sands felt soft under his soles and the low sounds of the waves hitting the shore made him feel at peace. If only he knew where this place was, and when he'd been here before...

Footsteps. Ventus' dream faded and disappeared and he became a little alert. He opened his eyes and looked around. The stars. No more meteors though. It seemed the shower was over. Tired... Oh man, he felt so beat. Maybe he should just lie down again for a little while longer. His neck was barely touching the grass again when Ven saw something come into his view much too sudden. Something blue... with a face... it was grinning..

"Whoa-!"

And now it was laughing. Well, rather 'her'. The shock finally shook Ventus' brain awake enough to process what he'd seen. He sat up and turned around to face the amused young woman smiling at him.

"Gimme a break, Aqua." he returned the laughter.

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead. You know, you should've at least brought a blanket."

He'd really fallen asleep out here? Oh boy, if so, Van would never let him hear the end of that now. However, when Ventus took a look around to check, he found not a trace of his brother anywhere around. The other boy must've just left the sleeping Ven behind here on his own, just as he'd said he would. Well, that figures actually.

"So that was a dream?" Ventus mumbled to himself. "But it'd felt so real, like I'd actually been there before... Looking up at the stars..."

Aqua petted his head and ruffled his hair, " 'Cept you've always lived here with us."

"Yeah... "

But even as he replied that, the images from his 'dream' just wouldn't leave Ventus' mind. Was that really right? Had he never been anywhere but here? There were so many things he often wasn't sure about, so many memories he often needed his brother's help to recall. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't something the others weren't telling him. Then again, that was just dumb. Why would the others be keeping secrets from him? They were his friends. His family. Even just the idea of doubting them made Ventus feel a little silly about himself and he started smiling at Aqua. Really now, it was his own memory that was so unreliable. He didn't need to go around blaming the others for that.

"I know."

Deciding to talk for a little while longer before heading back, Ventus and Aqua sat down by the cliff overlooking the small lake where the river waters gathered. Now that the meteor shower was over, the night was calm, other than the cicadas still singing relentlessly. Maybe those little bugs were watching the stars right now too, just like them? Considering that, a question occurred to Ventus.

"Hey, Aqua."

"Hm?"

"Y'ever wonder what stars are? Where their light comes from?" Ventus asked, then paused before adding one more question. "...Is it true that falling stars can grant wishes?"

Aqua needed a moment to think about all of this. So many questions at once were almost overwhelming, she had to admit. Then again, Ventus had always been the inquisitive kind. Alright now, how to reply best? "I don't really know about wishes. I think just really believing in something is already a powerful thing enough to help make it reality. So that could be playing a part in it."

"Oh... I see."

"And as for where the stars come from... Well, they say-"

"-That every star up there is another world."

Ventus and Aqua hadn't even taken notice of the third person approaching them from behind right until he went and finished Aqua's sentence. Now they turned to look at him.

"Terra," Aqua realized and he smiled at her and Ven.

"Pretty hard to believe that there's so many worlds out there besides our own, isn't it?" Terra walked up to sit with his friends. "The light you see is their hearts, shining down on us like a million lanterns. Sort of makes sense that someone would believe that light could grant their wishes. I mean, it's no different from looking to a friend for help, right?"

"What?" Ventus let Terra's speech run through his head, but the longer he did, the more puzzled he looked. "Um, I'm not sure I get what you saying there..."

"I'm saying the stars are no different from us. You and me, we're just the same as them."

"Okay, now what does _that_ mean?"

"You're gonna figure out yourself one day."

"But I wanna know now-!"

Bickering. It was the usual around these parts, really. Terra and Aqua bickering, Ventus and Terra bickering, Terra and Vanitas bickering, Vanitas and Ventus bickering... Just about the only thing you never saw was Aqua bickering with one of the younger boys. They couldn't have bickered with her even if they'd tried; she had a way of making it hard for them to dispute her points, a motherly vibe that discouraged one from arguing with her. Of course that didn't mean she couldn't see the humor in these little quarrels the boys liked to start. Ventus was just in the process of asserting his definitely very advanced maturity with the most adorable of pouts on his lips when Aqua burst into laughter behind him and Terra.

"Hey, what's so funny now?" asked Terra. Aqua wiped away a happy tear from her eye.

"You know Terra, you'd make a great big brother for the two. I can just see it."

"Huh?" Yet another statement Ventus didn't get. He leaned back with his hands crossed behind his neck.

Terra meanwhile shook his head at Aqua's assertion. Just then, some sort of idea seemed to occur to him. He turned a little, smiling at the nearby stone bench, which he'd passed just a minute ago. "Talking about which, Van. Don't you wanna come out from behind there some time?"

"Nah. The three of you keep going on about stars and stuff. Trust me, I've already had my share of that for the night."

"Huh." Surprised by the fourth voice she was hearing, Aqua got back up on her feet and skipped over to the bench, taking a look behind it. Really, there the second twin was, calmly nestled between grass and stone. "I didn't even see you over there! You just blend right into the shadows."

"Yeah, he's good at that," Ventus laughed. "Why do you think I don't like playing hide and seek with him? Seriously, he always wins!"

"That's not an achievement when the one seeking is you, Ven," Vanitas yawned. It was a yawn that did not pass by Ventus.

"Hey, wait a sec... Were you sleeping back there? Then what was that stuff earlier about me having to stay awake, huh?"

"I never said you had to stay up, just that I wasn't gonna bring you back home. I can bring myself back home. That's what I got legs for."

"I still don't see a blanket, though," Aqua pointed out. She smirked a little. "Which makes the both of you... equally hopeless!"

"Huh!?" The twin chorus went. And now it was Terra's turn to laugh.

The others soon joined him, even if they didn't quite know what they were laughing about. Maybe about Aqua's joke, maybe about how silly they were being. Or maybe it was simply fun to laugh together. It was infectious in a way. The four of them sat down on the cliff together for a while, talking about stars and myths, other worlds and what it might be like to see them. The fact that worlds had hearts like people intrigued Ventus. He wanted to ask a little more about that, but disappointingly the others didn't seem to know much more about it than the fact that it was a thing. That just bugged him. He would have loved to know if whole worlds can be happy or sad like they were or if they could even cry. Was this were rain came from, maybe? But when he asked that question, the others just laughed. What were they laughing about? It was a good guess, wasn't it? And there did Terra go again calling him a kid, and Van going even further, calling him childish. Now, Aqua was right, they _all_ were family to him, but really, sometimes he just didn't understand them.

When they group had been sitting there like that long enough for the moon to approach its zenith for the night, Aqua seemed to remember something. She got up.

"Oh, yeah. Terra, seeing how you and I are gonna be Masters starting tomorrow..." She started rummaging in the pouches hidden under the cloth around her waist and pulled something out. "...I made us good luck charms. Just in case!"

Aqua presented to them four star-shaped pendants made of metal and stained glass, the strings of two in each of her hands. One by one, she started tossing the little stars to the boys. The red and yellow one to Terra, the yellow and green one to Ventus and finally, a purple and red one to Vanitas. The final one - the glass was colored in two different shades of blue - Aqua kept to herself. Each of the boys took a good, long look at their presents from Aqua, admiring the skilled crafting that had gone into it. Especially the metal work for the frame was impressive for something that must have been done in her spare time on such short notice, Terra mused to himself.

"You made one for each of us?" Ventus realized, holding his pendant against the light of a nearby lantern and admiring the green glass shined in it.

"Sure. There wouldn't be a point to it if only Terra and I had one," Aqua said.

"...'Point'?" Vanitas asked, leading his finger along the frame of the purple star. Glass and soft metal, maybe lead. Chances were this thing would shatter upon first impact with the ground. What was he supposed to do with this?

Of course Aqua had an answer to that. She always had an answer.

"Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit, and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart."

"Hm?" When he heard that Vanitas looked up, just to find Aqua looking straight at him. She was smiling.

"You know what that means? We'll always find our way back to each other. No matter what."

The way she said it, Vanitas was sure that comment was meant for him. What he didn't know what exactly he was supposed to take from this. Was this supposed to be some kind of promise then? A promise made of soft metal and fragile glass. Yeah, right. Somehow, it irritated him. But then again, it was the same metal and glass the charms she'd made for herself and the other two were made of. Vanitas looked through the round. Ventus was still completely enamored with his pendant, playing with it in his fingers, while Terra appeared to be looking for a safe way to attach it to his belt. They both seemed to genuinely appreciate the gift. This promise was sincere... But what did a sincere promise made of soft metal and glass mean?

"Technically, I think you're supposed to make them of seashells," Aqua finally added a little bashfully. "But I did the best with what I had."

"Oy, sometimes you're such a girl." Terra called out.

Taking offense to that, Aqua threw him a sharp look, "Hey, what do you mean 'sometimes'?"

That little jab at Aqua's femininity - something Terra liked to indulge in time and time again - wasn't exactly at the forefront of the minds of the twins, both still occupied with their good luck charms - they were called 'Wayfinders', as they'd soon learn - in their own way each.

"That's just a fairy tale, isn't it?" Vanitas asked out loud.

"Hm?" Aqua looked over to him. "What is?"

"That thing with the fruit," he said. "It's just a fruit. And this is just a... thing. It doesn't change where people go or what they decide to do. How's that supposed to keep us together?"

"Hey, watch it! You're talking to a bona fide mage here, remember?" Aqua pointed out. "The Paopu fruit is the real deal, trust me. The world where it comes from is made almost entirely of ocean, and they sailors there have been using it to find their way back home for a long time. Well, so I've heard at least. Oh, the same goes for the seashells."

"But these aren't made from seashells," Ventus looked a little troubled. "Does that mean these aren't real good luck charms?"

Now, that one was a little harder to dispel. "Well, that's yet to be seen," Aqua admitted. "But I _did_ work a little magic on it."

"Really? What?"

Aqua grinned, "An unbreakable connection." And she held her Wayfinder up to the sky.

* * *

 **All** : Obtained _Wayfinder_

* * *

By now it was less than half an hour to midnight, and yet nobody felt all that tired. Everybody was too excited about tomorrow to just lie down and sleep. It seemed they would need a way to get rid of all that excess energy manually.

"Anybody wanna spar?" Terra suggested.

Ven immediately leaped forward. "I can take ya!"

Within seconds pairs were formed and the battles began. One to another, they kept a good eye on each others' technique and were quick to point out mistakes they noticed.

"You need to block my moves now or then if you don't want me to stun-lock you!"

"And you need to stop spamming your magic, you won't have any left ten seconds from now!"

"Quit goin' easy on me, you're not gonna win unless you stay on the offensive!"

"Slow and steady wins the race, Ven! You're overexerting yourself again."

They took turns fighting one another, Ventus versus Terra, Vanitas versus Aqua, Ventus versus Aqua, Terra versus Vanitas, Aqua versus Terra. Spells were flung, strikes were dodged, finishing moves were timed with precision. The final matchup came to a close when Aqua managed to catch Terra in the relentless rain of her Shotlock's bubbles. He found himself hitting the grass fairly uncomfortably.

"Looks like I win," Aqua twirled her Keyblade in her hand before she reached Terra a hand and helped him get up. This ended the fight and thus their sparring for the day. Everyone was absolutely exhausted at this point. Now they'd hopefully all be able to sleep well tonight.

"Hey, we're gonna head back."

"Yeah, me too."

"Coming."

The four of them returned to the castle together, Terra in front, the twins in the middle and Aqua, who'd taken one last look at the night sky, in the very back. They were too tired to do much talking at this point, but they still appreciated each other's presence. It was nice to be able to make the way home together like this after a long day of learning, training and battling. Maybe the last such day... To his dismay the thought crossed Vanitas' mind again. He pulled out the Wayfinder Aqua had given him and took another look at it. Five petals made purple stained glass, fading out to red on the thinner ends, held together by a frame of silver metal and the same cord that served as the pendant's string. In the middle, there was the crest of the Masters of this land, carved from black glass. He'd seen that on the other three charms the crest was made of the same metal as the frame, though the colors differed. Only on his it was made of a different material entirely. He touched it with his fingers, tracing the symbol's edges.

"Do you like it?" he heard Aqua ask him from behind. "I know you collect obsidian, so I thought it would make sense to use some in making yours. I tried to give every one of them a bit of a personal touch, y'know."

"You shouldn't have," he said. "You put way too much effort into these. It wouldn't have made a difference if all of them were the same."

"Maybe not to you, but I think it's important they're different from another."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we're all different," she answered.

"And those things are supposed to be like us?"

"Well, they _are_ stars," Aqua laughed.

Stars are worlds, and worlds have hearts. Making a wish to a heart was the same as asking another person for help. So Aqua's spell on these things was like a prayer to someone. She was begging for a thought to become reality. But in begging like this, wasn't she just admitting that she wasn't actually sure if that wish would really come true? If so, these 'charms' were just a bargaining chip, a fail-safe for what might be impossible.

Vanitas was the only one who felt about it that way. Ventus' thoughts were different entirely. He kept touching the Wayfinder in his pocket, trying to feel out Aqua's magic on it, and whenever he found what he believed to be a spark of power, he smiled a little. Aqua's spells were reliable, so what if that charm wasn't quite like the ones in the legend? She'd put her heart into it. According to her, the magic she'd cast on the Wayfinders allowed for them to connect their powers with another and borrow part of a friend's strength. This would keep them together, definitely. In fact, he couldn't wait to try it out. Borrowing some of Terra's power, or Aqua's or even Van's, what would that feel like? Stretching his hand out for the sky and smiling, Ventus thought he was beginning to understand. Stars are worlds, and worlds have hearts, like people. Just like some people would entrust their wishes to thestars, he had people whose help he could ask for when he needed it. So really, that good luck charm was the only star he'd need to make his wish come true. No 'curse' could ever stop him. He believed in that with all his heart.

Four hearts took their hopes and desires to bed with them that night, not yet knowing that it would be the last night they'd ever spend under the same stars together.

* * *

Somewhere in a tower far away, an old Master was distracted by the stars. Too distracted to realize that his young apprentice had yet again dabbled in advanced magic without permission, just to avoid doing his chores. Too distracted to even scold said apprentice for doing so. The apprentice was quite taken aback by this. He was ready, all too prepared, for his Master to yell at him and take his Keyblade from him for a week as punishment for the repeated transgression. Old Yen Sid however remained calm, his mind far away, his eyes glancing aside again and again.

"Mickey... I cannot shake the feeling something terrible is about to transpire."

Outside the window, three stars shone brighter than the others, blissfully unaware of the special light they'd inherited.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _First of all, thank you all for your cool reviews, especially the newcomers! It makes me so happy to read people's predictions for and opinions on this story, far beyond just raw judgment of quality. Please keep 'em coming! As for the dear guest who asked me to make the paragraphs shorter: I'm sorry, but I don't think I can comply with that. I know that for more casual readers shorter paragraphs help with reading flow, but I also know that the more you read, the more important it becomes for your reading flow to not constantly get broken up by random paragraph breaks, so really, this is a catch 22. I can't satisfy everyone, so I'd rather keep the format closer to how I know it from novels and thus the paragraphs will tend to stay longer. I'm sorry for that. Anyway..._

 _We're getting there. I know you all knew this scene. I made sure it was recognizable. Now, while given how much Vanitas' presence has technically already changed it makes little sense for this scene to still happen in a this similar fashion to how it originally happened (I mean, it's sure a huge coincidence the exact same thing would happen in two entirely different timelines), I decided to take some artistic licence with the Butterfly Effect and keep it anyway. It's just too iconic to drop. Plus, I needed the Wayfinders._

 _Vanitas' Wayfinder is purple fading to red with the insignia in the middle being made of natural black glass (obsidian). I didn't originally intent for the obsidian gemstone become symbolic for this timeline's Vanitas as it did, but the more I thought about it, the more it fit, and not only because of the gemstone's own symbolic meaning. You see, when I write the characters, each of them has a very specific "vibe" to me, one that actually matches up very well with the assigned elements in their names in this case. Writing Ventus, for example, is very exiting and uplifting, like watching leaves whirled around by a gust, while Terra is very forceful, everything he does and says, even the gentle things have a sort of "punch", like stomping hard on a stone surface. And of course, writing Aqua feels very elegant and flowing, but also forceful in a controlled way. I'm being overly flowery here. What I'm trying to say is, when I write Vanitas' thoughts and lines, the first association that comes to me is the image of glass shattering. His vibe is "destruction", his words and actions break things, and even if someone tries to put them back together, they'll never quite be the same as before again. Plus, he himself was created of something being "shattered". So what better symbol for that than shards of black glass? I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I find the association very fitting._

 _The next chapter is already 75% done. Strap yourselves in folks, it's gonna be an intense ride. I'm actually afraid I might be putting too much emotion into that one._


	13. Trauma

The sun hadn't even risen yet properly, but Terra was already hard at work in the training grounds at the summit. The shaft of Earthshaker shone in the first rays of morning-light as he swung it at a log to part it, in halves, into quarters, into eights. He hadn't gotten too much sleep that night, four hours at best, yet he didn't feel tired in the least. He didn't have time to be tired. There was still so much left to do. So much left to learn...! The Master had decided that Terra had shown the Mark, that starting today Terra himself would be a Master, and as overjoyed as that thought made him, there were still twinges of doubt gnawing away at him from the inside. What if it'd turn out he didn't have what it takes yet after all and was unprepared for what was ahead? What if he'd end up embarrassing himself, his homeland, his Master on his very first assignment out there? Or worse yet, what if Master Eraqus had reconsidered his decision this past week, and Terra would walk up to the three thrones to have the title bestowed upon him, only to be told that he wasn't ready yet? He was strong, yes, but he could always be stronger. He still _had_ to get stronger. After all, in their duel last night Aqua beat him...

It was all paranoia. Consciously, Terra knew that. But deeper in his mind, in the darker corners of his heart, the whispers telling him that everything would go wrong, and nothing could possibly go right just wouldn't stop. Usually he just pushed them down, ignored them, drowned them out with all the confidence he could muster, until they'd die pathetically and fade away like the ugly creations of Darkness that they were. This was how it had to be. Darkness had no right to exist, no right to be acted on, no right to be shown. Just as his Master had taught him to, Terra always directed all his mental strength at imprisoning and killing those whispers, for he wouldn't give those dark shadows even the tiniest corner in his heart. But as firm as his conviction to this way of life was, it wasn't always easy. If Terra was honest with himself, he'd have had to admit that he often had doubts. He'd catch himself thinking and feeling things that shouldn't be inside him. Things like _'You did me wrong, I want to hurt you for this'_ or ' _I don't need help, you are insulting me, I want to push you away'._ Times even something like _'I would be much stronger if it weren't for you.'_ They were brief, often he didn't even realize these feelings were there until they'd already passed, but that didn't make them any less pathetic, any less undeserving of the Master he was supposed to become. He never showed those thoughts to the others, or at least he tried not to, but whenever they reached his mind, he felt the need to punch himself. He wasn't weak, he knew he wasn't, so why did his heart allow the darkness to taint his view of the world and the people he loved even just for these brief moments? No, he couldn't think that way. He had to bury those feelings, deeper, crush them at the bottom of his heart until they gave their dying breath.

Beads of sweat hung from his face after fifteen minutes of target-practice and exercises in precision. Terra wiped them off before he led his hand to his side, resting it against the trinket tied to his belt. The little star made of glass and metal gave a dull ring when his fingernails hit it. It made the young man smile. A guiding star made by Aqua, one meant to make sure that none of them would ever lose their way. To Terra it felt comforting to have a charm like it to remind him of what really matters. But did the others even need something like that?

Sometimes Terra caught himself wondering if he was the only one struggling with keeping himself in line like he did right now. Aqua always seemed so frank and open with her thoughts and emotions, he couldn't imagine her hiding any sort of grief from him and the others, and Ventus was so carefree and full of energy, it felt like whatever that boy did was based on his whims. And, of course, there was no question that Master Eraqus would never allow himself to harbor any sort of doubts or weakness inside. His strength was permanently unwavering, no question. The only person in this castle Terra could see having thoughts like these was Vanitas, and that was only because that kid wasn't especially secretive about his pessimistic approach to life in the first place. Terra really didn't understand how someone with that much promise as a Wielder could be so open about flaunting such weakness. Maybe it was as Aqua said, and that sort of behavior had something to do with the hardships the kid went through before coming here. He'd gotten better about it for sure, but Van certainly still let the Darkness get the better of him far more often than was becoming for a Keyblade Wielder. Then again, it wasn't Terra's place to judge, not yet - He had to remind himself of that fact.

What was he even thinking? They were friends. Terra liked the boy, he really did. Hanging out with him, battling, talking training, joking around and even playing pranks on one another, it was always good fun, more than enough to make up for the times he genuinely annoyed him. Yet, if Terra was being honest, he never quite felt the same connection with Vanitas that he felt with his brother. Ventus was just so much easier to deal with. He listened to Terra, looked up to him, _made him feel appreciated, needed_ \- Terra shook his head. Wait, no, no. This wasn't all about being 'needed', was it? There was so much more to their friendship. He just got along with Ven a bit better than he did with Van, so what? That wasn't abnormal, was it? After all, Van didn't make it easy for people to get along with him- Wait, no, that wasn't it either. They were all friends. He liked being around them all. Especially because _having someone like Van around reminded him of how much worse he could be and made him feel superi-_

Terra had to stop himself. What in the world was wrong? Was the stress getting to him? Why was he thinking these things about the twins? He wasn't just friends with Ven because he admired him and Van because he made him feel better about himself, was he? ... Was he?

Darn it. Frustrated, Terra tossed his Keyblade to the ground and pressed his palms to his face. Why couldn't he get his mind in order this morning? Now Aqua, she would never be having these problems, he bet. No, not Aqua, she was always _so damn, flawlessly perfect-_

"Ungh-!"

Okay, that did it. The nervousness and sleep-deprivation had officially driven him off the deep end. On to the bench with him. He needed more sleep. Maybe a little nap and a couple hours' worth of dreams would be enough to flush these darn thoughts out of his head. What a great start into this new phase of his life this was. Spending the morning napping out in the training grounds on the day he was to become a Master. It was shameful, really. ...Of course, this wasn't the first time he'd had an episode like that. He only had them when he was on his own, when nobody could watch. Not that often, twice or thrice a year at best. He guessed that was normal. They were all flawed humans and no heart is free of Darkness entirely. But he had it under control. He never acted on these moments of irrationality, he never showed them to anyone... Really, all in all, he was fine. There was no problem. He just had to calm down. What had him so angry at himself right now was just that poor timing. Why'd he have to be like that today, of all days? This was the last day he was supposed to show weakness. The last day he should be struggling this badly holding down the dark. Master Eraqus had taught him better than that.

Dozing off on the stone bench by the cliff, resting his head on his arms to get comfortable, Terra found himself thinking of the twins again. At first, he didn't know why, but then he realized: They hadn't been with them for that long yet, and neither of them had had time yet to learn and practice the trademark emotional restraint Master Eraqus put so much emphasis on all that deeply. As different as Ven and Van were, they were similar in that they were both still young and unrestrained, so full of emotion.

 _'I have to admit... I sort of envy them.'_

It wasn't jealousy, not quite. He just wished that things were as easy as those boys made them look. Always being a carefree ray of sunshine like Ven would certainly have made life so much simpler. And even with how permanently negative Van was about everything, at least _he_ definitely never had to agonize endlessly about needing to hold his feelings in. Now, wouldn't that be nice? To just let loose and act like a brat rather than an adult now or then? It was then that, for some reason, something Aqua once said came back to Terra.

 _"Similar forces tend to reject each other."_

He really didn't get along with Van as well as with Ven... If he were to speak to Aqua about that fact, she'd probably say something like that again. He just knew it. The thought angered him a little, but not enough to keep him from drifting off into much needed, calming sleep.

* * *

It was seven in the morning. The ceremony was scheduled for eleven. Right about now Ventus was probably darting about the kitchen, trying desperately to roast a turkey, bake a strawberry cake, boil some soup and stir-fry some vegetables, all at once. Vanitas meanwhile was still considering whether to even attend or not.

He was out by the mountain path, sitting in the shade of a tree, turning a small object in his fingers. It was that charm Aqua had given them last night. That 'Wayfinder'. Its stained-glass surface caught the rays of the morning sun even here in the shadows. The way it shone reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it right that moment. Either way, Vanitas wasn't really sure why he was looking at this thing right now, or what to do with it for that matter. ' _As long as you and your friends each carry one of these, nothing can ever drive you apart'_ , Aqua had said, but how was that even supposed to work? Some little spell to borrow another's power couldn't change the future, let alone people's wills... Terra and Aqua were leaving. Starting today, they'd be Masters, and they'd go and see what's out there, they'd begin to understand things they couldn't even imagine beforehand, _and that would change them, and then they'd never be the same again, they'd never think the same again, not about him or anything, they'd just be gone forever-_

His hand was clutching the Wayfinder so harshly, it almost threatened to break under the pressure. Well, good. Let it break. Not like it mattered. Not like this thing even meant anything! Wasn't the only reason Aqua had made these to calm everybody down? To convince them nothing was going to change, even though she clearly knew that wasn't true? What kind of idiot would ever put their faith into something as childish as a wish-granting talisman? But no, Aqua wasn't an idiot. She was just a liar, that's all. A coward too, maybe. If she was worried he couldn't handle the truth, she should just say it to his face! Then again, he'd ended up not talking to her face either... About the way he felt, that is...

For a moment Vanitas' grip on the Wayfinder loosened a little. Wait, that was right. He had told that old bastard that he'd try to talk to the others about making a compromise regarding how they'd handle things from now on, didn't he? So why didn't he do that? A whole week had passed, and yet he never brought up the issue to them. But, ah, Aqua must still have known somehow. From the way she looked at him when she gave them these talismans, she must clearly have understood what this all meant to him, what he'd been thinking about all week. So why didn't _she_ ever talk to him about it?! Why didn't Aqua take some time out of her day to give him one of those dumb motivational speeches she loved so much, rather than wasting it making these stupid little toys? This thing wasn't worth anything. Just glass and soft metal. A cheap, empty promise. His grip tightened again, and his tense muscles shook. He ought to just shatter it, right here and now, let her know what he thought of her fairy tales and her... her...

The glass showed no sign of cracking. He kept squeezing the Wayfinder, but he couldn't close his fist on it. Something was holding him back. Something tiny, so warm and gentle, it was frightening and stung him. It was a feeling extremely alien to him, and yet it was familiar all the same. As if there was a faint voice, somewhere far, far away, whispering something to him. _'Have a little faith.'_ it said. What was it? What the hell was happening to him? It'd been so long, but he still knew there was only one voice that'd ever go interrupting his emotions and his thoughts like that.

"...Ventus?" he murmured, feeling a little dizzy. No, that couldn't be, could it? Ventus was someone else now. Someone who's voice...

"Heh!? No way, you saw me all the way over here?"

...wasn't part of his heart. It was just another voice, belonging to another person. That person just so happened to be here right now. When Vanitas turned for the source of the unexpected reply to his mumbling, of course it was Ventus he found standing under one of the old arches, waving his hand at him with a cheerful smile, before he took off, running over to his 'brother'.

"Hey, Van. So you're out here? Man, and there I was thinking you'd still be asleep. What made you a morning person all of a sudden?" Ventus laughed.

Vanitas demonstratively looked away. "Just because I'm not busy setting the kitchen on fire, it doesn't mean I don't have anything to do this morning."

"Really? Doesn't look like you're doing anything to me."

The cheeky tone of the response alone was enough to make Vanitas' head snap into the exact position needed to glare up at Ventus in a poisonous way. The blond boy flinched a little at the sight of that. He quickly realized that he must have hit some kind of nerve there. Was this not a good time to be joking around then? It could really be hard to tell with Van sometimes...

"What I'm doing or not doing is none of your business."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that... But hey, this is great, actually!" Ventus quickly brushed all worried off his face. Rather than lingering on this failed attempt at small talk, he knew a great topic to change to instead. "You know, I actually just came over here to fetch some fresh water, but if you're here already, lemme just tell you that I could really need your help back at the castle. I just put the bird in the oven ten minutes ago, but there's still a whole bunch of stuff left to do, and I'm honestly kinda worried I won't make it in time. ...Wanna lend me a hand? Once you're done doing whatever it's you're up to out here, of course."

As Ventus would soon realize, his timing continued to be poor. Vanitas gave no reply to his question, and neither did he accept the hand the other boy was offering him. Instead he scoffed, turning his head away again. One arm resting on his knee, he starred down into the valley. Maybe, if he refused to talk to Ventus real hard, the blonde would get bored and go away.

"Hm? Wait... What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Or not. Far from leaving him alone, Ventus was now bent over Vanitas, trying to catch a glance of the black-haired boy's eyes. Clearly, he wanted to read them, wanted to know what was going on behind them. As if that was ever going to work. Ventus would never be able to comprehend the way he felt, just as little as Vanitas could comprehend the way Ventus' emotions worked. That was just part of their nature, something Vanitas was thinking into far too deeply for his own liking today.

"C'mon. Tell me what's wrong. I can tell something's bothering you. If you don't talk to me, I can't help, y'know."

"And what makes you think you could help even if I told ya what this is about, huh?"

"Well..." Evidently Ventus needed a moment to think this over. "We're brothers! So, if anybody's gonna understand what's on your mind, it's me! I mean, there's clearly nobody around that's known you for as long as I have, right?"

A loud, quite unhappy groan followed. "Go away."

Ventus pulled back the hand he'd outstretched to the other boy, frowning a little. Alright, so this wasn't working. If anything, he'd only made it worse somehow. Part of him thought that maybe it would really be the best to leave the other be for now, but Ventus didn't want to do that. He couldn't just leave someone dear to him on his own with his worries. So, distractions didn't work, and trying to get him to open up didn't work either. Only one option left then. Even if that one was really a long shot.

"...It's about Aqua and Terra, isn't it?"

Vanitas looked up. He saw a serious look Ventus' face, the kind he only wore when there was absolutely nothing to smile about around. The blond boy was clearly expecting a reply from his brother. Instead, however, Vanitas held his eyes on him for about ten seconds before looking away again. Seeing that, Ventus decided to just continue speaking. He sat down next to Van.

"You're worried about the ceremony, right? That's why you're out here, all on your own. You're... afraid of how them being Masters is gonna change things. Because we're not gonna be training together anymore."

"...What makes you think that?" Vanitas kept avoiding eye-contact, but the brief pause he'd made before answering clued Ventus in that his brother had at least considered his words. He nudged a little closer to him.

"It's just a feeling I have. Well, not really a 'feeling'. It's more like..." Now Ventus was the one to hesitate. Could he really say something like that without sounding crazy? "I just kind of know that that's what you've been thinking. At least some of it."

"You don't know _anything_ ," Vanitas replied, getting up from the ground and walking away. Ventus followed.

"Van, listen. I know, it's scary to think about how things are gonna be different from now on. Aqua and Terra are gonna be away from here a lot, and we won't be able to follow where they go. I don't like that either. But it's not forever, right? This is still their home just as much as it's ours. It's not like they're leaving and never coming back. We've all so been looking forward to becoming Masters. We really shouldn't let anything ruin this day for them or for us. Right?"

"...What part of 'Go away' didn't you understand, moron?" Vanitas' voice sounded a lot colder than usual right now. It was a freakish kind of cold, that made Ventus shiver all over. For a moment, he considered abandoning the conversation and running away. He couldn't quite explain it, but for some reason, he suddenly got this deeply unsettling feeling... He was very, very scared.

He didn't run away. He didn't want to. What kind of Wielder would he be if he couldn't even be brave enough to speak to his own family? If Terra knew he was even considering high tailing like that, he'd be so disappointed in him. No, he'd started this, he'd finish it. "I'm not going away, Van. Not until you talk to me."

"Then you'll have to go stalk me until one of us drops dead. You really wanna test my patience like that?"

"Test your patience? What do you even mean by that?"

It was at this point that Vanitas took a deep breath and sighed. "Look... Just go somewhere else and forget we talked. Trust me, that's better for everyone involved. _Especially_ for you."

"How's it supposed to be better, knowing you're out here, sulking on your own, while everyone else is home celebrating? I can't let you do that!"

Teeth gnashing, breath becoming uneven. "Ventus, just _shut up_!"

This was so annoying. So irritating, so frustrating, just so incredibly disgusting. Vanitas hated every second of this conversation. Everything to make it stop. Sealing Ventus' mouth shut, slicing off his tongue, ripping out his vocal chords... The possibilities that came to him were becoming more and more violent. Bloodier, crueler, more final- No, stop. He had to calm down. He couldn't harm Ventus. That was the whole deal. If he harmed Ventus, Eraqus would open season on Vanitas, and then this calm, comfortable life would end, it'd all just shatter and disappear- Then again, wasn't it already in the process of disappearing right now? Aqua and Terra were leaving. They were leaving him behind alone. There would be nothing left here once they were gone. No one to battle, nothing to train for, not a reason to continue being here, pretending to-

"You're not gonna be alone! We can still have just as much fun together, even when they're not here for a day or two."

There. Again. A voice contradicting his feelings, cutting into his thoughts. Except, this time it wasn't a faint voice from some place that didn't actually exist. This voice was real and belonged to the Ventus right in front of him. Come to think, Aqua did this too sometimes, with those speeches and that advice of hers. He hated listening to those lectures and metaphors, but sometimes it helped. Often the advice she gave really ended up being valuable, helped him seeing possibilities he hadn't seen before. Was this going to be the same? He doubted it - Ventus was very different from Aqua - but Vanitas couldn't deny a certain curiosity.

"How?" He asked Ventus dully, finally looking at him. "How can things still be just the same with only you here?"

"Well... We just do all the same things we usually do. You know. Racing, practicing, playing command board..." Ventus paused for a moment. "...Sparring?"

At that Vanitas' eyes widened a little. "Sparring?" he repeated.

Ventus laughed. That was just the reaction he'd hoped for. "Yeah! What, you think I don't mean it?" He leaned forward a little, grinning. "Trust me, I can put up just as much of a fight as you, Aqua or Terra!"

"...Right. Sure you can." That didn't sound too impressed.

"Hey, what's with the sarcasm! Don't act all high and mighty when you've never actually tried me before!"

"There's a reason I've never 'tried you' before," Vanitas glared a little. "We're not allowed to, remember?"

"So?" Ventus sounded unnaturally confident when he took a step forward to Vanitas, assuring his position. "All the Master said was 'it's bad luck'. I thought you said you didn't believe in that sort of stuff?"

That was not something Vanitas had expected to hear today, especially not given what it implied. His eye-contact with Ventus was stable now. "Am I getting this right? You'd... actually defy Eraqus? Seriously?"

"If that's what it takes to cheer you up? Sure!" It was almost scary how easily Ventus said that. "He doesn't need to know, and if he finds out, I'm sure the Master is gonna understand how important this is to you. And, as for the whole 'bad luck' thing... Well, I'm not too worried 'bout that!" With a smile Ventus led his hand into his pockets and pulled something out. "I mean, I've got this! As long as I have this, I know everything's gonna be just fine." He held his Wayfinder up and let it sparkle in the sun.

Vanitas turned his head away a little. He had trouble processing what was unfolding here right now. None of this made all too much sense. Why would Ventus, of all people, ever even consider doing anything even remotely like this? What was it that the other was failing to understand about this situation?

"C'mon, Van! I know how much you love a good fight. If that's not gonna get your mood up, nothing is," Ventus had already summoned his Keyblade and was now tauntingly twirling it behind him. "...Or are you chicken?"

"… _What_ -?"

A moment very difficult to describe followed. At first Vanitas wasn't quite sure he'd actually heard what he thought he just heard. However, the evidence was there, plainly in sight. Ventus was wearing a smirk on his face like he'd just won the gold medal in being savage. It was a dumb taunt, a really weak one, but it was one he'd made. Ventus had just _taunted_ him. And the thing that said taunt was insinuating… Oh, how that made Vanitas' blood boil.

In any case, Ventus took Vanitas' exclamation of mortification for a question and replied to it, "Well, what else could be going on here? I'm challenging you, and I know you're not usually one to back down from a fight, so… I guess you're just scared of losing to me!"

Vanitas summoned his Void Gear.

"Ha! Now we're talking!" Ventus readied his Wayward Wind as soon as he saw the other take a stance. "The usual rules? Whoever falls down first loses!"

There was no reply to Ventus' question. Mostly because Vanitas hadn't even been listening to said question. He sped off, targeting Ventus' body with burst of flame straight to the chest. The boy dodged out of the way and leapt, thrusting his Keyblade from above. A Quick Blitz. Vanitas flash stepped out of the way before the attack could connect. The two of them ended up standing across from each other again, eye-in-eye and in combat position. Two attacks so far, and both had failed to connect.

"Whoa…!" Ventus laughed a little. "You almost got me! You're way faster than Terra _or_ Aqua."

"You already know that!" Vanitas hissed. "Our speed is the same, remember?"

"Yeah, but, it's just… I've never fought someone who's just as fast as me before!"

It was such a strange scene. Any onlooker could have seen in a flash that Ventus was enjoying himself, how his eyes gleamed with excitement at the new challenge before him, and how his expectations kept soaring higher and higher. Vanitas couldn't make sense of it. Hadn't the other just been insulting him moments ago? This was supposed to be a serious challenge, right!? Why did Ventus treat this as one of their goddamn games?

"What are we waiting for? Let's keep going!" Ventus yelled.

"You're having way too much fun with this…" mumbled Vanitas.

"Why _wouldn't_ I be having fun with this? Do you know for how long I've been wondering what this battle would be like? This is so cool!"

Another thing Vanitas didn't expect to hear. It was like a little gear that had been stuck in place for years had just ticked on by a single step, loosening the old mechanism a little, readying it to start moving. Ventus had been waiting for this? What'd that even mean? He wanted to battle him…? Not ever being allowed to engage Ventus in combat was one of the first things Eraqus had Vanitas pledge when Ventus' mind first began to return. The two of them weren't supposed to fight, and to an extent, Vanitas understood very well why that was. No matter how long this game of pretend went on, he was still Darkness. Ventus' shadow. Darkness devours light, light erases darkness. If he fought Ventus, they might end up destroying one another, right? Didn't Ventus realize this? Didn't he feel it? But, no, what Vanitas sensed from Ventus that moment wasn't anxiety, fear or even worry. All that reached him was joy and excitement. Curious anticipation for what was about to happen. How come Ventus wasn't afraid? How could it be that he wanted this? Things really had changed a lot ever since that day they'd first been separated… And somehow Vanitas knew that he couldn't exactly deny it that he, too, wanted this. The desire to battle and unload all the frustration he'd been gathering this past week was itching in his fingers. The fact that his opponent was Ventus only made it so much more _alluring_. Especially after that stupid insult he gave about half a minute ago...

"Alright. We'll do this. But I'm warning you: I won't hold back." Vanitas demonstratively swung his Keyblade. "If you don't like the idea of getting home covered in bruises, this is your last chance to back out."

"Won't be necessary. I'm not planning on being the one to take a beating here. Anyway… Here we go!"

On Ventus' command the boy's kicked off the soil and resumed their attacks. This was where the battle truly began. With wild maneuvers and quick turns, surges and leaps, the boys engaged each other, parrying or dodging whichever hits the could predict and withstanding those they couldn't see coming. Gusts of wind, bursts of dark flame, meeting and canceling each other out, dousing the training grounds in a rain of sparks. So far neither of the two seemed to hold the upper hand. Indeed, the boys seemed quite evenly matched.

"Ready to give up now?" Ventus called quickly between dodging and attacking.

"Strange thing to ask, when I'm the one winning!" Vanitas replied.

The two went all out, their auras charging with the sheer energy of their battle. Eventually their gathered power burst out and they entered command styles, Vanitas first, Ventus next. This would allow them to use more advanced techniques. Accordingly, the battle's intensity increased, and the boys now moved so fast, a casual onlooker would have had trouble following their moves with the naked eye. The longer the fight went on, the more familiar they became with one another's attack patterns and it became harder and harder for both to make a blow connect.

Ventus was laughing throughout the whole experience. He seemed so light on his feet, absolutely free of any worries or doubts. Observing this display of boundless happiness, both with his eyes and through his link to him, Vanitas had to admit to himself that, yes, Ventus' joy was genuine. That revelation was important, since it meant that Ventus' challenge to this fight, his taunting and pushing hadn't been a random whim or worse, a pathetic sign of pity. Ven really did want this, he wanted to be locked in combat with him, testing their powers, one against another. This was perhaps the first time in his existence that Vanitas felt as if he couldn't just sense, but also understand Ventus' emotions completely. Right now, Ventus' joy wasn't just a fleeting hint of emotion he happened to feel in passing, no, he could feel it vividly, as if it had infected him too. He shared the joy of this battle. So, in truth, it wasn't just Ventus who was laughing. Both of them were.

This was fun. Plain and simple. Just as much fun as it was to fight Terra, as it was to fight Aqua. No, maybe even more. Something about this just felt so… _right_. Yes, this was _supposed_ to be happening, this was what he _should_ be doing. Fighting with Ventus, on and on, back and forth, closing in, closer, still closer, _forever_ -

-Ventus stumbled.

At once their flow was broken. Vanitas' slash wasn't parried or dodged or even withstood. There was no resistance to his attack, just the feeling of something being pushed out of the way, like an object, just a wet sack of flour. Now Ventus was on the floor. Keyblade knocked out of his hand, disoriented. He looked so weak, so defenseless. Not like an opponent, not like someone who could hold their own…

What was he doing? They still had to battle. It couldn't just end now. Driven by those thoughts, Vanitas stretched out his hand, so Ventus would take it and get up, and they could continue fighting, more and more. But the closer he came and the more saw and thought about Ventus down there, on the ground, graveling, groping, trying to get his bearings again, the more he couldn't help but think that it was just so… pathetic. Like a worm eating its way through a fresh apple, spoiling its flesh, a thought was boring its way through Vanitas' heart. That down there. That was what Ventus had looked like on the day they first parted. And then again on the day he was rejected by him. This weakness, this lack of focus, this cowardice. This was what Ventus really was, wasn't it?

This was that boy… The one who ran, when everyone around him was fighting. The boy who cried, when people around him screamed in pain. The boy who just flew away when the world was dying. _What a pathetic boy they were…!_

And that pathetic boy, that weak side of him, was going to be the one who'd get to continue living this pleasant life? That boy would be allowed to stay happy like this forever, while Vanitas would surely be cast aside like an empty husk?

Ventus was saying something. Maybe something like 'thanks' or 'I'm not done yet', but Vanitas didn't care. He didn't even hear it. Just as Ven was about to take the hand his brother had offered him, Van pulled it away. There was a glare in his eyes now, one that hadn't been there before just a moment ago. When Ventus saw it, he felt as if all blood and water in his body had frozen stiff in that single second. What was going on? What was this feeling? As if the color of the world around him was being drained, leaving nothing but cold, naked fear. Had he ever been this afraid before? He couldn't remember, no, he _didn't want to_ remember.

On shaking arms, Ventus tried to pull himself away from Vanitas a bit and get up, but by then it was already too late. Vanitas struck quickly, leaving no time for Ventus to get up or prepare. The blond boy screamed as he was thrown across the battlefield by the other Keyblade's impact. He smashed into a wall with his back and landed in shallow water, coughing and spitting, trying to get back onto his feet. But he was distracted, not just by the pain, but by everything around him. He didn't understand what had just happened, his own emotions, or Vanitas' actions, none made even the least bit of sense. Was this really happening? He was afraid to open his eyes and find out. Before he knew it, he found himself looking up at Vanitas again. There was still this glare in his eyes. This cold, piercing look, as if he were trying to stab Ven's heart and tear it to pieces.

"V-Van…"

"Who's scared _now_?"

That's all he heard the other say, before the Void Gear came down onto him again. The image of the Keyblade raised above his opponent's head alone was terrifying. Ventus had always hated these moments, the split second when he saw the others raising their Keyblades to attack him. They made him want to run away, just to get as far away from danger as possible. And really, what else was there to do right now? Just this once, he knew his fear was justified. Ventus leaped back onto his feet and ran. As fast as he could, with steps as wide as his legs allowed, somewhere, anywhere, up the mountain path- A burst of flame cut off his way. Ventus flinched with a yelp. Like a scared little child, he scrambled to back away, but he didn't know where to. He couldn't keep his thoughts in order, everything seemed terrifying right now. It didn't even feel entirely real. What was going on, _what was going on_? His mind rapidly kept asking itself this question, again and again, but all he got in response were disjointed snippets of thought, words he couldn't make sense of. Things like ' _All your fault_ ' or ' _I hate this_ ' or ' _Let's just die_ '. Die? Why would he want to die? No, that couldn't be right, he didn't want it to end here, it just wasn't right-

In his confusion and disorientation, it almost hit him by surprise when he suddenly found himself backed up against a tree, a Keyblade held to his throat, as if to behead him. He pushed away, but it didn't help much. He couldn't focus on fighting right now, he was just too confused and afraid. Ventus would have declared his surrender right there and begged for his brother to stop and let it be, but his throat was closed, he didn't get a sound out, and even if he had managed to, he had a feeling that Vanitas wouldn't listen. The way he was right now, relentlessly chasing after Ventus, getting only more persistent the further Ven ran, it didn't seem as if anything would reach him.

Ventus tried to run away again, but his speed soon failed him. He took two more heavy blows from Vanitas, one right to the chest, smashing him into the ground, another harsh one into his side, sending him flying into a stone wall once again. By the time he felt solid ground underneath himself again, the gross, metallic taste of blood was in his mouth and his entire body hurt to the point he felt he wouldn't be able to get up again even if he tried. The strange current angles of his right leg and left arm were reason enough for anyone to conclude that moving them would probably be a bad idea right now, and every breath he took burnt like fire. Was this it? Was he really going to end like this, without even knowing why or how? Why did this feel so… familiar? Just like the stars the other day. It scared him so much. ' _Pathetic_ ', a stray thought in his head said, and just that once, he thought he could agree with it. Yes, being as scared and clueless as he was right now really was-

He didn't get to finish the thought. As Ventus was about to close his eyes and wait for his opponent to deal the final blow, there was a voice. A loud, angry roar, quite familiar to him. Then, the sound of Vanitas groaning. Then, for a short while, nothing. What had happened? Fighting the pain Ventus dragged himself up a little and turned, so he could see what was going on. There he saw them. Terra, pinning Vanitas down to the ground, using both his Keyblade and his foot. As for the expression on the young man's face as he looked down at the black-haired boy, 'fury' couldn't even begin to describe it.

" _What are you doing!?_ " Terra yelled, loud enough to cause the waters of the nearby pond to shake. "Can't you see Ven is hurt!? He's in pain! What in the world has possessed you to do this!?"

Yes, 'what'. What, indeed. The haze was lifting, the white noise faded. The mess of emotions, memories and disjointed thoughts that had been all over Vanitas' mind just a moment ago was clearing a little. Now he had no explanation for his actions. None except the one he'd never gotten away with ever since day one: _'I just felt like it.'_ This wouldn't fly. Not Terra, not with Eraqus… Not even with Vanitas himself. What exactly had he just done? He knew the sequence of events of course, down to the detail, but what had triggered them, he wasn't too sure. Was it just that he'd seen Ventus on the ground like that? Just that the thought of Ventus' weakness had crossed his mind for a moment? Was that really all it'd taken for him to jeopardize everything he'd worked so hard to maintain these past years? …Then again, it had all already been in the process of disappearing anyway, hadn't it?

The right of Terra standing tall above him and looking down at him with such contempt, was nothing Vanitas hadn't expected to see eventually. This was just a little earlier than he'd originally thought it would happen, that's all. Even still, damn, it hurt. Why did it hurt to be looked at like that? His position was mortifying, sure, but there was something else still, something powerful and painful, that was pressing him into the ground even more harshly than Terra's boot or weapon. Vanitas averted his eyes from Terra and turned his head a little to catch a glimpse at Ventus. Now that he took closer look, what he'd done to the boy looked a lot worse than he'd expected. Ventus' arm and leg were clearly broken, his clothes were torn and bloodied, and there was a large open burn wound on his chest. Anybody who'd see Ventus like this would surely be under no illusions regarding the fact that his attacker was outright trying to kill him. So, this was it then. The end of everything. Now that he'd done this, there'd be no chance Eraqus wouldn't destroy him. That was, if Terra didn't get to it first. Maybe it was the knowledge of his imminent demise that caused Vanitas to feel a stinging pain in his chest when he saw Ventus' broken body, spying a glance of the blonde boy's eyes looking over at him in utter terror and confusion.

Above it all, thick clouds hung over the sky, dreary and dark. Had the weather been this bad before their battle? He could have sworn the sky had been clear just a few minutes ago. Well, not like it mattered much. In any case, Vanitas didn't feel like speaking. After a minute had passed without Vanitas granting him as much as eye-contact, let alone an answer to his questions, Terra lost his patience. Putting even more pressure onto Vanitas' chest, to the point the boy ended up groaning in pain, Terra bellowed down to him, "I'll ask you again! What were you and Ven doing!?"

Vanitas could barely breathe with all the weight Terra was pushing down onto him with. As he didn't especially feel like dying of suffocation today, he decided to give Terra an answer. "Sparring…" he mumbled, without even looking at the older boy.

Of course, that reply did nothing to calm Terra's anger. " _Sparring_?" he yelled, then flung out his arm to point his finger in Ventus' direction. "Does THAT look like sparring to you!?"

Vanitas didn't respond. It really seemed silly to try and talk himself out of this one. Not even worth the effort. Five seconds more of silence were all Terra could take before he decided he'd absolutely had it with Vanitas. Grabbing the boy by the collar of his jacket, so the fabric uncomfortably cut into his skin as he was dragged up to eye-height with the older wielder, Terra fletched his teeth, then began to scream at Van. " _What in the world is wrong with you!?_ The Master trusted you, _we all_ trusted you, because we believed that it hadn't been on purpose back then! But…I should have known all along! Aqua was wrong about you."

Terra's grip was harsh and left no doubt about how serious this matter was to him. Vanitas understood very well that, at least for this very moment, Terra hated him. Nothing could have made that more obvious than this very familiar tinge that Vanitas could sense so clearly from him right now, this flow of negativity that he only rarely connected to anyone other than himself. Terra's aura right now carried the scent of darkness. With emotions as intense as these, there was really no telling what the man would do next. Vanitas didn't want to die. He'd probably have to fight then… Flexing his fingers, he got ready to summon his Keyblade.

"T-Terra…"

A third voice to cut into their confrontation. Only a little off, Ventus was gripping to the stone wall next to him, trying to get back onto his feet. "Terra… don't…" Ventus' quiet voice coughed.

Though Vanitas noticed Ventus' pleads enough to be momentarily distracted by them, Terra didn't seem to hear them. The young man raised his fist above his head. Whether it was to summon his Keyblade or just straight out punch Vanitas in the face, they'd never know. Just then, the sound of running steps approached the three.

"Terra! Van!"

"What is the meaning of this?"

The voices surprised Terra enough to make him let his arm drop and even let go of Vanitas' shirt. The color drained from his face when he realized who was speaking. "Aqua… M-Master!"

Vanitas' body dropped to the floor like a wet sponge, making a dull ' _thump_!' sound as it hit. The boy was dizzy and disoriented, but his state was by far not bad enough to draw anyone's attention right now, not when there was someone in so much worse shape so close by.

"Oh no… _Ven_!" Aqua had finally spotted the youngest boy crumpled up against the wall just a little off from the other two. She ran to him in a panic, kneeling by his side. "Ven! Ven, are you alright?"

No answer. He'd finally passed out just a few seconds ago. If it was from the pain or from the blood loss was anyone's guess. Aqua acted quickly and began to draw runes of light into the air with her fingers, summoning a complex spell circle around her friend. This sort of magic took too much time and concentration to be applied in the heat of battle, but with Ventus' physical state as dire as it looked, Aqua knew that a regular curative spell wouldn't do much to help. Proper ritual magic was in order. While she was occupied like that, Eraqus approached the remaining two wielders.

"Terra. What happened here? What are you doing?"

Terra was nervous, and his throat was raspy from all the yelling. He stumbled over his words. "V-Van… He attacked Ven… I was just trying to make him…"

"Make him do what?" Eraqus asked. He motions towards where Aqua and Ventus were. "Didn't you notice how dire Ventus' state was? Your first course of action should have been to restrain Vanitas with your Keyblade, then _immediately_ tend to Ventus' wounds!"

Terra froze up at Eraqus' stern words. Of course, now that he heard it, it seemed so obvious. Why hadn't he done that? In the heat of the moment, it didn't even occur to him. Now, for the first time since beginning his attack on Vanitas, he looked at Ventus. Had he really left his friend to suffer like this? Just to satisfy his momentary rage? Even just realizing it made Terra feel disgusted with himself. Feeling weak on his knees, he shook his head, before finally rushing off to join Aqua by Ventus' side. Of course, by then Terra already wasn't the primary focus of Eraqus' attention anymore. The old Master focused his gaze upon the black-haired boy laying in the grass before him.

"Vanitas." He only said the boy's name, but that word alone carried so much meaning. Eraqus' voice sounded angry, cold, disappointed and perhaps even a little sad. It was a pitiful way to be addressed.

Vanitas remained silent as he returned the old man's gaze with a defiant look of his own. Maybe he should run away, he thought. It was all over anyway. The least he could do was try to save his own life. Eraqus was about to end him, he knew it, and he didn't want to end. Even if he didn't know what he was living for, death still scared him.

He leapt onto his feet and tried to dash away, up the mountain path. Maybe he could jump into a valley and hide in one of the surrounding forests. However, Eraqus was prepared for this. With a quick motion of his Keyblade, the Master shot chains of light in Vanitas' direction, tying him to the floor.

"Ungh!" The boy fell, struggling to escape, but it was no use. He was trapped. The light of the chains burnt against his skin in the most surreal of ways, but much worse was the fear of what was about to come. Eraqus stepped closer to him.

"So, you did break your promise and engaged Ventus in combat after all," the old man said, gazing at the cloudy sky above them. "What a pity… I believed none of this would ever have to happen."

"And now you're going to destroy me?" Vanitas asked, grinding his teeth. He was scared, so scared. He hated how scared he was. He hated everything about this moment, about this day. But above all else he hated himself.

Eraqus never replied to Vanitas' question. He cast a spell to freeze the boy's time. Vanitas' mind didn't resist. It wasn't worth the energy, really.

* * *

When he woke up Vanitas found himself in his room, as alive as ever. At first, he wondered if all of what'd happened had just been a bad dream. That seemed logical, since in retrospect being so stupid as to break the deal with Eraqus just to beat up Ventus in a fit of frustration seemed like such an irrational thing to do. However, when he got up his body ached. The window was barred shut with barrier magic, and the door had a spell cast on it that burnt his hand when he attempted to touch the knob. He was locked in. Why was he locked in? If what he remembered had happened, shouldn't his life be long over by now? Or perhaps this was Eraqus' idea of 'erasing' him: Sealing him away from the world until everyone and everything out there had forgotten he ever existed.

He wanted to break something but was too tired. Even picking up one of the obsidians on his shelf and smashing it against a wall seemed like such a herculean task right now. Vanitas just wanted to sleep, stop thinking and stop feeling anything. Nothing even felt real anymore. Maybe this was all still just a dream, and once he woke up, everything would be back to normal? Ven would be bugging him to play some silly game together, Terra would be pocking him in the back and remind Vanitas of all the chores he still hadn't done this week, and Aqua would take him out to the garden to help her tend to the plants. How miraculous a vision that seemed like right now. He wondered how he'd never realized how amazingly pleasant those little everyday actions were before.

A while passed, maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour, he didn't know. Eventually he heard steps outside, and then the door to his room opened. The thoughts raced in his head. Was this his chance, should he run, should he prepare to defend himself, prepare to fight his way through? Ultimately, he did none of those things. The person now standing in his doorway was Aqua. She didn't greet him, didn't say anything. Instead she just stood there, staring at him with heavy, forlorn eyes. And he starred back at her, at loss of what to say or think.

How long did they look at each other like that? Second, minutes? It felt like an eternity. Finally, Aqua took a step inside, closing the door behind her. Once the sound of the door lock clicking into place had echoed out entirely, she spoke.

"What did you do?" she asked.

Vanitas stayed silent. He still had no better explanation for his actions than he'd had out in training grounds.

"Aren't you going to say something?" she asked.

No. He wasn't.

Aqua took another step forward, her right hand clutched to her chest. "Isn't there anything that you _want_ to say?" There was more urgency in her voice now. "Ven… Your brother is in pain, Van! He's hurting, because of what _you_ did to him! Doesn't that make you feel anything? Don't you at least want to ask if you could go and apologize to him!?"

"…It's always about Ventus, isn't it?"

Hearing Vanitas say that, Aqua held her breath for a moment. Quietly, she fixed him, waiting for him to say more.

"It's always _been_ all about him." Vanitas went on, spitting venom. "You never even wondered how I was feeling about things around here, you guys don't even care what it is that would make do something like that, do you?"

"That's not true. I care."

Aqua said this easily, without hesitation or weaver, and somewhere inside Vanitas knew that it was the truth. Even so, his mind couldn't make sense of it. It didn't feel like he was being cared for, it didn't feel like his feelings mattered. And yet there was Aqua, giving him that look again that she'd given him so often when they were younger. 'Sympathy', Eraqus had called it, but right now, all Vanitas saw in those eyes was pity. Pity for a pathetic, weak creature, who was clearly beneath her. He didn't want to be looked at like that and turned his back on her. Behind him he could hear Aqua sighing.

"I'd have listened to anything you had to say if you'd just told me," she said. "I still would."

"What's that going to change now? What's done is done. No use crying over spilt milk."

"This isn't just 'spilt milk', Van. What you've done… What you did to Ven, it's-" Aqua stopped herself at that point. She knew, riding around on that subject any further wasn't going to help. At best it would make Vanitas think she really didn't care for his reasons to attack his own brother. At worst- she didn't even want to think of that. Another sigh. There was really nothing she could do, was there? All that remained was to get to the point. In a monotone, as if reciting a piece of paper, she was reading from in her mind, Aqua spoke, "The Master said that you may never leave this room again. Terra and I may visit you, but only if we're prepared to… restrain you, should you try to escape or act out of line."

Hearing this, Vanitas let out a low, dry laugh.

Aqua sat down next to him on the bed. "I wish there was something I could do about it. But what you've done is inexcusable. Keyblades aren't meant for us Wielders to strike down one another. I'd hoped you'd know that…"

"If you really want to do something, why don't you?"

"Hm?"

"You heard me. You should be a Master by now, right? That makes you the old man's equal. You can try to reverse any decision he makes, you just have to say the word." Vanitas turned his head to look at Aqua. "Am I right?"

Aqua, however, stared blankly at the boy, stunned by what he was suggesting.

"Y-You…" Her voice shook. She needed a second attempt to sort her thoughts and get out the sentence she meant to say. "You actually think we had the ceremony? You think we would want to become Masters _like this_!?"

She was back on her feet again, he stance now guarded and defensive, her expression utterly baffled. She kept looking down onto Vanitas as if she were expecting him to tell her it was just a bad joke any moment now, but that didn't happen. In a way, she seemed almost disgusted.

"I don't understand…!" Aqua mumbled, more to herself than to the boy. "Who are you?"

Somehow it hurt to hear her say that. He didn't know why, but it did. Even more than Terra's glares and yelling or the sight of Ventus' broken body. Today everything just seemed to hurt. If only this horrible day could be over already.

Aqua left after that, wordlessly sealing the door behind her. Once again, he was locked in on his own. Maybe it was better that way. Seeing Terra hurt him. Seeing Aqua hurt him. Seeing Ventus would surely have been no better, and the further away he was from Eraqus, the better. What was he even here for anymore? It was done; the life he'd lived those past four years was gone once and for all. What was there left now? There was nowhere to go, nothing to look forward to… For a moment he considered, if it wouldn't really be best, if Eraqus _did_ decide to put an end to him. At least that would warp it all up nicely.

He pondered that on his bed, hoping for sleep to eventually take him, when the atmosphere in his room suddenly changed. A low humming sound and a blanket of comforting, dark energy, seeping into the room. Vanitas sat up and looked towards the source. Right there, where the mirror he used to practice usually sat, was a dark hole in his room. A portal to parts unknown, laying in front him invitingly. Where had it come from? He had no way to know. But there was one thing he did know: It was a way out of here. Away from this place and from what had happened, away from Eraqus, Aqua, Terra and this oppressive atmosphere that was suffocating him. He didn't know where he would run, but it didn't matter. It was somewhere to go. A hint of distrust on his mind, along with the question of who had gifted him with this suspicious way out, Vanitas walked through the dark portal. His ornaments, his books, his notes and all his possessions stayed behind untouched, as the dark corridor closed in his back.

* * *

Aqua heard her steps echo behind her while she walked down the hallway. What had happened in these past few hours still hadn't sunk in entirely. Maybe it never would. She felt so lonely right now, thinking of Ventus unconscious in his bed, her potions still working to mend his flesh and bones, thinking of the look on Terra's face when they carried the boys back to the castle. Thinking of Master Eraqus and how much he sighed the whole way, right until before he announced his decisions. And then there was Vanitas. Her heart felt heavy. She'd said that she didn't understand, and that still held true. Why had Vanitas attacked Ventus, worse yet, maybe even tried to kill him? Had her trust in the boy really been this misplaced? Then who was that person she'd known these past years, the boy they'd come to know and watched grow here alongside his brother? To begin with, who were the twins? Where had they come from? Aqua took out the Wayfinder in her pocket and looked at it. She wanted to know the truth. But what could she possibly know when Ventus had nothing to tell, and Vanitas never spoke about these things? Maybe Terra felt the same right now, she thought. Mortified by how little they really understood about the boys they'd called their friends…

A thought crossed Aqua's mind. Right, there was one other person, who probably knew more about those two than Terra or she did. But four years had passed, and the Master had never shared whatever it was he knew with them. Would he now? They had been supposed to become Masters today, but under the current circumstances nobody was in the mood for ceremonies or festivities. Maybe she should just try and ask, but it didn't seem right. The Master was surely suffering himself right now. Aqua shook her head and put her Wayfinder away. "Before I do anything else, I should go and check on Ven again," she told herself. "That's what's most important right now. He shouldn't have to wake up alone after all of this."

And thus, she headed for the younger twin's room, still feeling lonely with every one of her steps she heard echo.

* * *

He should have known who he'd find on the other side of the corridor. It was really quite obvious in retrospect. Now he was here in front of him and had no way to turn back. The portal had closed behind him as soon as he'd stepped through. However, he knew this place. It was the forest where he and Terra had first battled, just days after he'd first arrived here, the part of it they hadn't eroded in their escapades soon after, that is. Dense, dark woods, not easily penetrated by the eye. An ideal place to lure somebody into a trap or spirit them away. That was probably the kind of situation this was, now that he thought about it.

Xehanort's ugly old face smirked at him in a gross fashion that just made Vanitas want to punch it in. However, he still remembered the results of their previous encounter all too well. It wouldn't have been smart to try and match Xehanort in skill or power. As much as Vanitas hated to admit it to himself, in the face of this man, he might just as well have been an unarmed helpless child.

"Greetings, boy," Xehanort said. "How was the journey? I hope the method of travel I've chosen for you was pleasant enough. I figured the dark corridors must be safe for a being like you to traverse."

Vanitas lost no thought to Xehanort's disingenuous 'hello'. Instead, he focused on something else; the implications of the fact that Xehanort had known he'd been locked away in his room to begin with.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Vanitas asked bluntly.

Xehanort laughed. "Context is key, dear boy. Just what might you be inquiring about?"

The young wielder glared at the man before him, before reluctantly giving the information he was sure the old bastard already possessed.

"' _The Keyblade isn't meant for one Wielder to strike down another'_. That's a golden rule, right? Well, there's one person who I know from experience isn't above breaking that one." The boy's eyes narrowed. "You were there. I couldn't make sense of what'd happened at first, but now I get it. You… You did something to me. You used me to take out Ventus without getting your own hands dirty, didn't you?"

To that, Xehanort widened his grin. He seemed little bothered by what Vanitas had concluded, if not to say _pleased_. "Used, you say? Please. What you did to Ventus in the morning hours was destined to occur eventually from the moment of your very creation. All I did was stir loose some of the Darkness Eraqus has been seeking to stifle within you. Your resulting actions were all your own. If you just search your heart for your true desires, you'll know it to be true."

And again, there the old bastard went, telling him how to feel about his own emotions. Oh, how he hated this.

"Well, whatever you were trying to do by getting rid of Ventus, I'm afraid it didn't work out. He's still alive. They saved him. Guess you'll have to go have a chat with your old pal Eraqus if you're still that crazy about snuffing him out, huh?"

Maybe this was a way to get rid of that fossil. Send him off to have a stand-off with Eraqus and possibly get himself killed in the process. Now, that'd be good riddance. But of course, it wasn't that easy. Xehanort didn't look one bit surprised by Vanitas' proclamation of Ventus' continued existence. Instead he began to laugh again. That dried out, gross laughter, one only someone who's body was so far past its prime it had no reason to even be walking around anymore, could muster it.

"Oh, but you misunderstand. You see, it was never my intention to bring an end to Ventus' life."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Ridicule me if you want, boy, but the facts remain. All I was trying to do by unleashing the desires Eraqus has been forcing you to repress was help _you_."

The eyebrow stayed up. Did Xehanort really expect him to buy this crap? Well, obviously, since he continued right on with spouting it.

"Have you never felt restrained by the limitations imposed on you by Eraqus' ultimatum? Have you never found yourself entertaining the thought of what it would be like to let your and Ventus' powers, the boundless, unrestrained darkness within you, and the radiant light he holds, clash and mingle, until they set each other free, creating something so much bigger? Don't claim you haven't considered it, boy. It is in your nature. What you were created to do."

" _You_ created me," Vanitas pointed out. "Are you going somewhere with this? You were the one who made Ventus and me into separate people. And now you're suddenly talking about putting us back together? Make up your mind, man."

"But don't you see?" Xehanort asked. "The two of you had to be split from one another in order to allow Ventus – the _true_ Ventus – to fulfill his potential and final purpose. Your existence is just a tiny part in this much greater event. You are but a gear in the machinery of destiny."

"My… purpose?" He'd wanted to snark back at the man's ridiculous claims, he'd really meant to, but the words escaped his mouth because he could think them through. Xehanort spoke of destiny, of some kind of event. A "something" that Vanitas was _meant_ to do. A reason he was here. He just couldn't help but feel interested in that.

"Why yes, can't you feel it? You and Ventus, you are both destined to something so much greater than being mere Keyblade Masters." And as Xehanort said this, the grin on his face widened even further. He took a deep breath before he spoke the next words. " _The_ _χ-Blade_ …!"

"The… χ-Blade?" Vanitas let the word roll off his tongue. The pronunciation was familiar, yet something about it seemed different. Just by the way Xehanort had said it alone he could tell that he didn't mean the same kind of Keyblade they all wielded. It had to be something bigger than that.

"Yes, the χ-Blade. The key to the final door, the one that can break the lock on Kingdom Hearts itself. Once it is forged, born from a union of pure light and the deepest darkness, it will summon the true heart of all worlds right to its wielder's command, and enable that person to free the world of all imperfections, all imbalance and all suffering! It will create a perfect existence, a paradise without pain, built of all worlds… By your hand."

As if to underline what he was saying, Xehanort stretched out his hand to Vanitas in a clear offer. The boy stared at it. An existence without suffering? Without pain? Was that really within his power to create…? Could he really… set himself free? He began to stretch out his hand.

-But wait, no. This was Xehanort. The one who'd begun all his suffering in his first place. The one he'd had his mind set on defying since the day he was born. Why should he trust him now? Ventus, the Ventus who had existed before, had trusted this man, and look where that had gotten him! Vanitas pulled his hand back and summed his Keyblade, taking a stance.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not interested in your lies," the boy said.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Xehanort shook his head, pity on his face. "You poor, confused creature. 'Lies'? Why would I ever be lying about this? It is all I've been hoping to facilitate all these years. The culmination of my research. Don't you recall? I spoke of it to Ventus, the day before you were separated."

"All I remember from that day is pain. Pain _you_ caused!"

"And that pain, you can end. Along with all other of its kind. If you only could find it in you to believe my words…! It is time, my boy. The χ-Blade must be forged. It is for the good of all worlds. _Your_ good. In the next world, the one which will come after this one, there will be no reason for you to doubt the worth of your life. You and Ventus will be one once more. United with all those hearts that consider him dear."

"…"

Don't say anything. Don't give that old bastard, that asshole, any reason to think you were going along with his lies. That was what Vanitas told himself over and over, holding his stance, but he found it difficult to focus. What if Xehanort spoke the truth? What if that thing he spoke of, that 'χ-Blade' really was the way out, the one Eraqus had never found- _Claimed_ to not have found. Now that he thought about it, didn't Eraqus mention something like that once? Just a single time, years ago…?

"It seems you are still unsure. Well then, so be it. I shall give you more time and the _freedom_ to consider my proposal."

-Darn! He didn't pay attention. That short moment of being distracted was enough for Xehanort to charge at him head on. Vanitas didn't have the time to dodge out of the way anymore. Now all he could do was defend. His arms risen, his Keyblade firmly held in front of his body….

* _Click_!* That sound was all Vanitas heard. He never recoiled, never felt a blow connect to his blade or body. Instead, he had the strangest feeling as if a weight was being taken off him. There was another, more dull sound, as if a small object had just fallen on the soil to his feet. What exactly had Xehanort just done? Vanitas only realized it once he opened his eyes and looked at his own arms still held up protectively in front of his body.

The familiar metallic shine that he'd gotten used to seeing glisten from his left wrist was now missing. The bracelet, the one Eraqus had put on him four years ago, was gone, broken off by whatever precise attack it was Xehanort had just launched against him. From that realization on, it were only four seconds before Vanitas felt a singeing heat suddenly rise in his body, another four seconds before that same heat began to push out of him, making him feel as if his skin was burning off in the process. The boy screamed in agony, falling to his knees, as he felt his skin, his very flesh pushing outwards and reshaping like molten steel being forged. When he realized what was happening he tried to resist it, but it was absolutely no use. In a minute's time the fire had thoroughly burnt away the human appearance he'd gotten accustomed to calling his own. All that remained were his human face and his hair. The rest of him was once again covered in what could only be described as a 'Suit of Darkness'. He could hear Xehanort above him laugh. It pissed him off.

"Does _any_ of what you do have a point?" Vanitas spat out at the man, plenty of venom leaving his mouth alongside the words. "You changed my outfit. Fantastic. Great party trick, if you're trying to amuse an audience consisting of yourself."

"If I were you, I wouldn't waste my emotions on something as trivial as banter," Xehanort spoke, his eyes wandering away from Vanitas to something behind him. "After all, we both know that they can be quite difficult to _control_. Don't we?"

Xehanort hadn't finished his line yet when Vanitas began to feel strange. His emotions, the anger, frustration and spite they felt, they were dulling, but not in the sense of them fading and leaving him calm. Rather it felt as if the feelings were detaching themselves from him, escaping, much too sudden. And then there was this creepy sensation of something moving right behind him, creeping, slinking and crawling through the twigs and patches of grass. Even before he turned around, he began to realize what was happening. No matter how much time would pass, this specific sensation was just so unspeakably gross, he'd never forgotten what it felt like. A look behind his back then confirmed what he already knew: Rising from his own shadow, small creatures took shape and began to roam the forest of their own accord. Vanitas held his breath. More creatures rose, this time of another shape as the ones already there. Altogether, he saw four types stalking off into the woods. Irritation, Frustration, Spite, Shock. One by one they escaped from him like boiling water from a leaking cauldron, each one uglier and more repulsive than the last. The sight alone made Vanitas want to hurl. Just the idea that these things, these pathetic creatures, were part of him. He felt so disgusting.

The Void Gear appeared in his hand. One lunge, one strike, one kill. One of these eyesores less in existence. But barely was the monster slain, disappearing and burning up in its own dark flame, a wave of unprompted emotion hit Vanitas like a speeding vehicle, head on.

' _I hate this. I hate everything about this.'_

His own voice rung out in his head like a phantom or hallucination. It was enough to make him stumble in his step. He already couldn't stand it when he felt irritated for a reason he understood. Now the emotion just invaded his mind like a bad stench, caused by nothing other than the reabsorption of the Unversed he'd just destroyed. Right. This would now happen every time one of these things was killed. Just like back then. That meant he'd have to either ignore these things' abominable existence or endure the assault of negativity every single time one died by his – no, by _anyone's_ blade. Wide-eyed and breathing heavily, Vanitas starred at the ground. What kind of sick Catch 22 was this? He'd gone four years without having to deal with this. Four years, just living… But _now_ …

"I have removed the collar for you," said Xehanort. "Now you'll be able to use your true power freely, with no restrictions. I'm sure you'll find that you are much stronger this way."

Bastard. Making it sound like Vanitas wanted this. Making it sound like he'd done him a favor...! -He sensed more Unversed escaping from his shadow. Disgust, anger, malevolence… He was going to be sick. It was too much to even grasp to a clear thought. He wanted to make somebody pay. Somebody had to _hurt_ for this. And he knew just who it had to be, too. Vanitas fletched his teeth and dashed off towards Xehanort, making an obvious attempt to skewer the old Master with his Keyblade. He failed, of course, the old man teleported out of the way with ease. The boy didn't leave off. He whirled around, searching his target anew. There. To his right. Again, he lunched. Again, Xehanort teleported. And then it repeated. Again and again. Finally, Vanitas focused his energy and charged his Keyblade, aiming for Xehanort. One, two, three seconds-

" _Take this!"_

Bursts of flame broke from his Keyblade in quick succession, raining a barrage of fire upon his opponent. Flame Salvo. If a Shotlock didn't hit, nothing would. And 'hit' it did. As for damage, however, the effect remained negligible at best. As soon as the flames subsided, Xehanort stepped out of them, no worse for wear. Vanitas stared. Was there _nothing_ that could make that ruin finally cave in!?

"Patience, boy. I said 'stronger', but not strong enough yet by far, I'm afraid. This place has left you soft. Your Darkness must still deepen before you can fulfill your destiny." Xehanort calmly walked past Vanitas. "Once you and Ventus have both reached sufficient power, come find me, and bring him with you. Then I shall guide you to end your – no, _the worlds'_ suffering, once and for all."

Vanitas wasn't quite sure when Xehanort had opened the portal that was now in the old man's path. He would have assumed that something as complex as traveling on a level even deeper than the Lanes Between would require more thought, but, no. Apparently a flick of his hand was all it took the old man. This was just the way he used the Darkness to do his bidding.

Xehanort left Vanitas behind in the crowd of newborn Unversed. Of course, the boy didn't know what to do there. The most immediate thing on his mind was that he couldn't stand being surrounded by these walking testimonies to his own weakness. So, he began to slay them, one after one. The sooner he could get these gross things out of his sight, the better. Unfortunately, he soon realized that this was an impossible task. Every Unversed he slew caused him enough distress for two new to be born. The herd he attempted to cull only grew and grew. He was so sick of it. He wanted to get away, just anywhere, but where could he go? Back to the castle? Out of the question. If Eraqus – no, _anyone_ saw him like this, followed by all these creatures and oozing pure Darkness, they'd destroy him without a second thought (Three Unversed of fear and two of sadness were born.) The longer he remained in this forest, spawning these creatures, the more likely it became that eventually somebody from up in the castle would just follow the monsters' trail and find him here. Then it would all be over. He had to do something, he had to get away. But how?

Vanitas, both physically and emotionally tired from the pointless battle with the Unversed, looked at his hand and thought. Was the power of Darkness all it took to open one of those portals? Would the wave of his hand be just as effective as the old bastard's?

He'd have to try. There was really no other choice left for him. Vanitas took one last glance up at the treetops, between which he could see one of the castle's towers shine through in the distance. The place he'd called home for four years. Where Aqua and Terra were. Where Ventus was. This wasn't his home any longer. Maybe it never should have been in the first place. When he turned his back on the view of the castle, for the first time Vanitas noticed that there was something clacking against his hip and he looked down.

The Wayfinder's string was firmly tied to his belt. When had he done that? He didn't remember. In any case, the knot was too tight to bother and open it now. He'd just leave it that way for now, he supposed. Not like it mattered. Soft metal and fragile glass wouldn't change where he was going or how the others thought of him now. Not even if it was shaped like a star.

Right now, everything just hurt.

* * *

A strange mood had taken the whole castle. Ventus, once more unconscious, only occasionally stirring in his healing sleep. Aqua, quietly watching by his bedside, a somber look in her eyes. Terra in his room, staring at his own lap and trying to overcome the pit that was his stomach right now.

And finally, there was Eraqus in his chamber. An old but beautiful crystal chess set was set up on the table in front of him, the pieces arranged in a very particular way. It was a setup he'd never forgotten, not even after over fifty years had passed. For a brief while he'd thought he'd finally found the all-saving winning move, a way to turn the game around. ' _Shôgi'_. That was the name of a variation this game in which one is allowed to return pieces captured from the opposing side into the game, using them as one's own. Eraqus had thought that this rule might be the answer he'd been seeking for, that perhaps he could turn the black pieces on the board white, one by one. Maybe one day he'd even turn the king himself. But he had failed, or rather, it'd been futile from the beginning. He should have known that the rules of the game wouldn't change so easily. With a sigh, Eraqus picked up the dimly glowing rook on his side of the board and dispelled the magic he'd cast on it, returning the piece to its original pitch-black color. He put it aside.

"Oh, Vanitas…" Eraqus whispered, looking at the black rook, before his eyes wandered back to the board. "Xehanort..."

The Master did not realize just how much time had passed already with him doing nothing but stare at this old game of his. Had he still thought of the time, he would have gone to see for his students. Particularly Terra, whose state of mind also worried him greatly. Of course, he knew of the boy's eagerness, his desire to prove himself and his tireless zeal, but he wouldn't have dreamed to see his pupil the way he was in the morning, so completely controlled by his anger and his pain. Something Vanitas had said had occurred to Eraqus shortly after he had to witness that scene.

' _Xehanort seemed... interested in him.'_

No matter what, Aqua and Terra could not become a second instance of what had happened between Eraqus and Xehanort. Eraqus just couldn't allow that.

* * *

A fallen shelf, surrounded by pieces of wood and books strewn about everywhere. Terra had punched a wall in his room. Now he had to deal with the consequences. Mumbling curses at his own mood under his breath, he picked up the books one by one, until he felt a slight pain in one of his hands.

"Gh-!"

He'd pricked his finger on a splinter. Blood ran from the wound, dropping all over his copy of ' _The Way of the Blade_ '. Shocked, he grabbed the closest thing a towel in reach – his blanket – and began to try and wipe off the blood. All he ended up doing was smear it further over the cover and pages. Way to go, Terra, he thought to himself.

"This was a present, too." he mumbled, but recalling just who it had been a present from took him a few seconds longer. When the answer came to him, he let the volume slip from his hands. "Van…"

There it was again, that bottomless pit in his guts. It made him feel empty, made him feel angry and disgusted with himself. For a while, Terra glanced back and forth between his still bleeding finger and the bloodied book on his floor. Finally, his eyes rested on the small wound. It still stung his finger, not to mention his other hand still hurt from his punch earlier. Even if it probably wasn't broken, it appeared at very least rather bruised. Still…

"Ven is suffering much, much worse than this," Terra told himself, clutching both his hands into fists.

He had no right to be this angry, let alone to pity himself. It wasn't as if he was the victim here.

* * *

Aqua was by Ventus' side when he woke up, gently holding his left arm steady, so he wouldn't move it too much in his confusion.

"A-Aqua? Huh? Where…am I?" Ven groggily rubbed his eyes with the hand Aqua wasn't holding. Then, the memories came flooding back to him. "Where's Van? A-And Terra! W-What… happened…?"

"Ven, calm down, it's-"

' _It's alright_ ', she meant to say, but Aqua stopped herself. She couldn't lie like that. All she could do was try to soften the blow, as impossible as it seemed. She gentle stroked his hand and attempted to smile at Ven.

"You'll be fine," Aqua said. "Your body is healing. I've taken care of the worst, and the fractures should be almost gone by now. Still, you'll have to take it a little easy for the next few days."

"…So, that was real." Ventus' face fell. He lifted the arm Aqua was stroking a little and looked at it. Some of the pain was still there. "We fought. Van and I, we were sparring. And then-"

He grimaced. Remembering was terrible, but he couldn't just cry, not in front of Aqua. That'd only make her feel bad too. He'd cry when no one was watching, maybe.

"Ven… Are you alright?" Aqua asked, and she couldn't help but sound worried.

"Aqua. I don't understand what happened," Ventus said. "Van, he… He didn't even want to fight. He kept saying it was a bad idea, and that I should go away, I… I really shouldn't have pushed him, but..." He was going to keep rambling, but then he saw the face Aqua was making. Wide-eyed and with her forehead in wrinkles, she looked downright surprised by what she was hearing. "…Aqua?"

Aqua lowered her head a little. "You say he never wanted to battle you? That it was… your idea?"

"Yeah…" Ventus nodded slowly. "That's the gist of it. That's why it's so weird. I don't remember everything from that battle, but… It was just all so wrong. He went all out, as if he was seriously trying to take me down. It was like he'd become a completely different person. I mean, sure, we fight sometimes, but… this… It was like…"

"Like something was just breaking out of him?" Aqua asked.

Immediately Ventus nodded again, "Yeah! Just like that! …How'd you know?"

Aqua stayed silent. She didn't quite know how she was supposed to explain this. In any case, what Ventus was telling her sounded familiar. Hadn't the exact same thing happened before? Way back, before Ventus had become conscious of his surroundings? What did that mean?

"Ven… You and Van, you're twins..."

"I mean, yes, we are… What's that got to do with anything?"

She didn't even know. She had no idea. But she wanted to know, now more than ever.

"Say, have you ever noticed anything about him? Like, for example, a special power he might have trouble controlling? Or another 'self' inside of him, that he's trying not to show?"

Hearing Aqua's question, Ventus started thinking. What she was talking about didn't ring a bell. He didn't think Vanitas had any special abilities that they didn't both share, or that he might secretly have another personality. That seemed just weird. But then, just when he thought of answering 'no', something occurred to Ven after all. He raised his head.

"I… I don't know if it's anything like what you're talking about, but…" he began.

"Hm?" Aqua listened up.

After he'd taken a breath, Ventus continued. "Sometimes, I feel like I know what Van wants to say before he says it. Or, like I know things he isn't saying at all. It doesn't really 'feel' like anything, they're just… Things I know. Like he'd told me, without either of us knowing he did. I always figured it was just my mind making up stuff. You know, like trying to blame someone else for thoughts I have and don't like. But the more I think about it…"

"So… You know his thoughts?"

"Just a few, but yeah… I think so."

Aqua leaned in closer, "Then, what was he thinking when the two of you had that battle?"

"I'm not sure…" Ven closed his eyes and tried to remember. "Actually, I think it was about us."

"Us?"

"Yeah. You, Terra and me." He kept trying to piece together something coherent from what little he could recall. "He was worrying that guys wouldn't be there anymore once you're Masters... And then, he… I dunno… Got angry at me for something? I couldn't make sense of it." Ventus pulled his shoulders up a little. "I think it had something to do with how often I'm afraid of things…"

Ventus finished that line with a tone full of shame and a sigh. Aqua took him into an embrace, "Oh, Ven… You've got nothing to feel bad about, alright? Everyone is afraid sometimes."

"But what if me being scared somehow made… _that_ happen?" Ven shuddered when he said that. "I've got this weird feeling, like I'm somehow to blame for it."

"You shouldn't think that. It wasn't your fault. If anything, I should be apologizing to you…"

"For what?"

Again, Aqua stayed silent, just gently holding Ventus in her arms, in a way which didn't allow him to see her frustrated face. She could have stopped this. She'd known about Vanitas' worries for days, yet she'd had them fall by the wayside because she thought he was dealing okay. He _seemed_ to be dealing okay. Right until this morning, that is. All of what happened this morning, Ventus' wounds, Terra's pain and whatever kind of Darkness it was that had taken hold of Vanitas four years ago and today, she could have prevented it all by taking better precautions.

"Aqua… That's too tight. I can't breathe."

"-Ah. I'm sorry!"

"No, it's alright," Ventus pulled out of the embrace as soon as Aqua loosened it a little. "But you really don't need to do that sort of stuff. I'm not a kid anymore, y'know? I'll... deal with what happened. Somehow."

"Ven. I need you to understand that if there's anything that's on your mind, you need to tell us. That's got nothing to do with your age. We're all there for each other, right?"

"Right." Ventus smiled a little. "Thanks, Aqua. Um, by the way. How're the others doing? Like… Van. Is he… back to normal?"

Ah, yes. The question she'd been dreading. Aqua felt like such a hypocrite, doing this just after telling Ventus to be open with her, but in the end, she didn't know what to say. She turned her head away.

"Aqua…!" Ven sounded worried now. "What's wrong?"

"Ven," Aqua sighed. She really couldn't delay it any longer, could she? "It's about Van. He's-

"- _He's gone_."

Before Aqua even had a chance to get to the point, Ventus had interrupted her. What's more, the words he interrupted her with had her speechless for a moment. Aqua snapped to attention, focusing on Ventus, who seemed to have had the color drained from his face in the past 20 seconds. With and expression of shock and confusion he starred at his blanket.

"Ven?"

"H-He's not here anymore…" Ventus repeated himself, as if he himself couldn't believe what he was saying. "Aqua, he's gone! He just… left…"

"No," Aqua got up from the chair she was sitting on. Now she, too, was pale as chalk. "That's not possible…"

She ran out of the room, hearing Ventus call her name as she did. He probably wanted an explanation for his own premonition, but she couldn't provide him with that, and neither did she have the time. She had to hurry. Maybe she could still get there in time, hold him back, talk him out of it, or maybe she'd even find that Ven' intuition had been wrong in the first place. Yes, of course, it had to be, there was just no way he'd broken the Master's spells, no way he'd gotten past the thick walls-

"Vanitas…!"

But when Aqua arrived at the older twin's room, throwing the door open and yelling the boy's name, she was greeted by an empty chamber. It looked almost the same as the day she'd come here in secret, every single item in its place, and no trace of Vanitas. She called his name one more time to no response before she had to face the fact that she was too late. Vanitas was gone.

She could have stopped all of this, yet she let it happen. What kind of prospective Master was she supposed to be?

* * *

 **Current Status:**

 **Aqua Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Rainfell (Strength +2, Magic +2, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Silken Ribbon (Magic +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Spell-Weaver (Magic)

 _Shotlock:_ Bubble Blaster Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Terra, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Terra Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Earthshaker (Strength +3, Magic +1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Energy Bangle (Defense +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Critical Impact (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Sonic Shadow Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Ventus Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Wayward Wind (Strength +3, Magic +1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Element Ring (Magic Defense +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Fever Pitch (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Vanitas

 **Vanitas Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Void Gear (Strength +2, Magic +1, Medium Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Power Chain (Strength +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Mad Rush (Physical), Destrudo (Dark)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Ventus

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _Before anybody asks: The kitchen is fine. Aqua took the turkey out of the oven after they got Ventus and Vanitas back to the castle. It was slightly burnt, but it's not like anybody felt like eating anymore after all of the above BS anyway._

 _Anyway, here we are. The point of no return. This chapter was a challenge to write, mostly because of all the raw emotion involved, but, hey, that's what Kingdom Hearts is all about, right? I've seen people speculate loads at how Xehanort was going to mess this all up for our quartet, and there you have it. An event that is bound to send the characters on a journey like in the original timeline, yet is completely different. The time frame still matches, but everyone's motivations are now shuffled around noticeably. You'll see the effects of that in more detail in the next chapter._

 _"Shôgi" is a real variation of chess, mostly played in Japan. As stated here, its major difference to standard chess is that you're allowed to use captured pieces from the opponent as your own. I thought that was a fitting metaphor for Eraqus' relationship to Vanitas up to this point. That's not to say he didn't genuinely care about him as a student to some extent (he did), but for the most part, he's seen him as a potential hope for redeeming Xehanort._

 _Ventus being able to read some of Vanitas' thoughts is a concept I've toyed with a while in response to Vanitas' (canonical, btw.) ability to sense some of Ventus' emotions. My explanation for why this happens here when it doesn't in canon is that in canon, Ventus had no memory of Vanitas' existence and thus no proper link to him until the very last battle against him. Here they spent plenty of time together, allowing the link to grow mutual. At least, that's the idea here._

 _I decided to provide a status page because I want to use a few gameplay elements in the story, and without a sense of overview of who currently can do what, it won't make much sense to do so. I also gave everyone an accessory slot, because it always bugged me they got rid of that one after KH2, and because I wanted to add a little significance to the fact I made Aqua tie ribbons into her hair in this timeline._ _The reason Vanitas is Lv. 2 rather than Lv.1 is because he's actually had a proper battle this chapter (against the Unversed), so he's one step ahead here, additionally to leaving before the others. I've made up custom command styles and Shotlocks for him, though like Ventus he starts with a generic Shotlock and won't unlock one of the unique ones until later. As for his current command styles, "Mad Rush" is a simple palette swap of Ventus' "Fever Pitch", focusing a little more on assault diving than Ventus' version. "Destrudo" is supposed to reflect his canon battle-style (AKA: Riku's Dark Mode). The name is a real word, the significance of which you'll quickly see if you try to look it up in a dictionary or on Wikipedia._

 _Finally, before I forget again, people really liked it when I shared the name of the song I imagine as the story's "Anime Opening", so I guess I'll do it again. When it comes to "Anime Ending" sequences, the first half (up until this chapter) gets "SIGMA" by suzumetune, a song that's on bandcamp for free test-listening on Diverse System's compilation "thinkover." I swear it's amazing and suits the vibe of Vanitas' character development and his relationship with Ventus in this first part perfectly. It's a haunting, soothing song about going into the unknown with only your feelings and hope to guide you._ _The "Anime Ending" song starting with next chapter would be "kanata", also by "suzumetune", which I know for a fact is on YouTube. It's an energetic, but somewhat confusing song about chasing to regain a lost relationship, struggling needlessly. It's very fast paced, perfect for the image of kicking off to a very confusing journey on a Keyblade-glider- *whistles*_

 _Fun fact: The next chapter is already fully written. Except it sometimes during the following week._


	14. Helplessness

Aqua's steps echoed loudly as she ran through the dead silent woods, using her Keyblade to light the way. Though she knew that the noise would surely alert the person she was trying to track down, she couldn't afford losing time by sneaking around. Any second she lost was a second he might be getting away further and further from their grasp.

She'd rushed to Terra and Master Eraqus and told them of Vanitas' disappearance as soon as she could, sending the castle into a frenzy. Eraqus had immediately ordered a thorough search for the boy. No stone was to be left unturned and no corner to be left unchecked. Right now, Terra was busy examining every single room and area on the castle grounds for signs of the escapee. Aqua, as the faster of the two, had been given the task to search the surrounding mountains, valleys and woodland. She'd already wasted three hours circling the land on her glider in her search and found nothing. Now searching the forests was all she could still try. Sharpening her senses, Aqua tried to find anything, a sign of life, may it just be a hint of movement hiding in the bushes…!

There. Something caught her attention. Aqua stopped running and looked around. She'd sensed something, but what exactly it was, she didn't quite know yet. All she was sure of was that this 'something' wasn't just a wild animal running from the noise she was making. It felt much too unsettling for that. Too… hostile.

Darkness. That feeling, it was the presence of something dark seeking to devour light. A person with a tainted heart, maybe? No, this was different, this felt more… "wrong" somehow. Almost as if it wasn't coming from a person at all. Downright inhuman, but somehow also familiar in the worst possible way. Carefully Aqua resumed walking down the path she was going, her Keyblade held in front of her body, so she'd be able to use it at a moment's notice. Then, just ten meters later, it appeared.

It started with an unsettling sensation, like cold water and ice showering down her back, then she spotted a red gleam, almost like a pair of angry eyes, shining at her from between the trees. Finally, it leapt at her. It was a creature, the kind of which Aqua couldn't describe as anything other than a monster. A body covered in unnatural, rubbery purple skin and a head pointy like a bird's beak, with strange antennas that looked like lightning-bolts. It was short, only reaching to her knees, but its appendages were sharp like spears, lunging at her and seeking to stab her body. Aqua dodged with ease, but in doing so she quickly realizes that the small monster attacking her wasn't alone. From the shadows on the ground all around her, more and more of these creatures rose, until she was surrounded entirely. She'd never seen anything like this before.

* * *

 **INFORMATION: Take out the Unversed!**

* * *

A pearl of sweat glistened on Aqua's forehead as it dawned on her that this would be the beginning of a battle. A proper one, not the kind she'd been used to all these years training. These things certainly wouldn't just stop attacking if she fell and lend her a hand to help her stand; They'd fight to destroy and strike to kill. This wasn't training anymore. This was _what_ she'd been training _for_. The real deal. It felt so surreal…

Sink or swim. That's what it would all come down to now. Shaking her nervousness from her mind, Aqua focused on the targets all around her and charged her Keyblade…

" _Gotcha_!"

Bubble Blaster. She'd cull the crowd, as many at once as possible. Her shots hit, encasing the enemies and tearing them up into the air until the bubbles exploded, ripping apart a few of the creatures right then and there. Not all of them however. A good number was still able to fight, and the overflowing sense of irritation Aqua could feel from them put her on edge. The sooner she ended this, the better. She charged forward, placing her slashes with precision to cut straight through the creatures' bodies. She did her best to keep the amount of time it took her to destroy any single one of them to a minimum, but she couldn't quite manage to cut them down in only one hit. She lacked the raw strength needed for that. Eventually, she began using ice spells to keep enemies further back from closing in on her before she could get to them. She soon realized that the rows of enemies weren't thinning out nearly as quickly as they should have, and spotting a few new kinds of monsters among them clued her in to the fact that reinforcements were coming in. So the initial wave that had attacked her weren't all that had been lurking in these woods…

Just what were these monsters? All these years Aqua had lived in this world, she'd never encountered anything like them before, not in the woods nor anywhere else. These creatures hadn't just spawned out of nothingness, she was sure. The distinct scent of Darkness was all over them, and their aura was charged with a negativity so powerful, it made her body shudder whenever she just gave herself a moment to think about it. Their shape, their way of moving, their flowing, misshapen eyes, it was all entirely alien to Aqua. So how come she felt a distant sense of familiarity as she fought, as if she'd encountered these things before in a bad dream? It was all so odd.

Eventually the barrage of enemies began to lessen. The reinforcements had stopped. Maybe she'd soon have culled the last of them? If so it would have been great, because honestly, as well as the battle was going for her now, Aqua still knew she wouldn't be able to keep going like this indefinitely. She hadn't brought any curative potions with her and when it came to healing herself mid-combat she was still a tad inexperienced. All in all, this strange battle was a learning experience as much as it was a shock.

' _I'm almost through,'_ Aqua thought to herself. _'One last finishing move, and this'll be over!'_

But just as she got ready to make use of the fact that she'd entered her Spell Weaver Command Style a while ago and wanted end the fight in a whirlwind of magical energy, the enemy seemingly decided to shake one last ace out of their sleeves. All at once the remaining creatures gathered in two spots, melting and coalescing, until, finally, it all exploded into a burst of pure energy, one powerful enough to cancel out Aqua's finishing attack. She was thrown off her balance and fell to the floor, coughing up the dust that had been kicked up around her. Was that it? Where those monsters finally gone?

Of course not. It couldn't be that easy. In a hurry Aqua got back on her feet. Something was rising from the cloud of dust left by the explosion of the two meeting attacks. Something with an aura even more menacing and overwhelmingly negative than any of the creatures she'd been fighting up to this point. Outlined by the light of her own Keyblade, Aqua saw two silhouettes of about the same size and roughly the same shape leap from the clouds, spinning playfully, their appendages swinging around them, until they finally came to a stop on the ground in front of her, grasping on to each other's arm-like tentacles and snuggling close to another as they starred beadily at their enemy. It was then that Aqua realized what these two grotesque figures reminded her of, however distantly: A pair of children, holding hands. What kind of sick joke was this?

* * *

 **INFORMATION: Take out the two remaining Unversed! Watch out to not get caught in their sugar trap!**

* * *

Aqua tried to use Bubble Blaster again. Maybe she'd be able to take the initiative and cut this battle short. However, she quickly realized that this would be a fruitless endeavor. The two creatures were too fast to lock onto, leaping about the battlefield as if they were made of rubber, going everywhere, behind the trees, onto the branches, behind Aqua—

She screamed when she felt a sharp pain in her back. One of the two little beasts had attacked her from behind with a pointed object. Aqua whirled around and tore at the thing piercing her. She quickly identified it as a sort of bone shard and threw it away. Not too far from her she could hear a sickening noise, like a poor imitation of a child's giggle. The monster that had attacked her stood on a tree stump just a few meters away from her, throwing bones from the container on its back. On the other side of the battlefield, its "sister" sat up in the tree branches, transfixing Aqua like a hungry vulture.

' _I think they have some sort of strategy,'_ she thought. _'I can't just attack blindly, I need to keep an eye on what they're doing.'_

She kept dodging the 'brother's' throws, while watching the 'sister' as closely as she could. Eventually, the 'sister' made an unsettling sound, as if trying to speak without actually having vocal chords. Its 'brother' must have understood what the creature was trying to 'say', because on that exact cue, the 'brother' jumped off the tree stump, and the 'sister' off its branch. The two of them skipped around, circling Aqua, dropping small items in their trail. Aqua was nothing short of baffled when she saw what exactly it was that fell out of the creatures' "hands".

"…Candy?" She picked up a piece of glazed gingerbread, not understanding the purpose of this move.

It was a mistake. She should have run out of the circle the monsters had drawn around her when she'd still had the chance. Behind and in front of her, Aqua heard the creatures' strange voices, making the same sounds over and over again, almost as if they were singing, no, _chanting_ something. They became louder and louder, and in the very last moment she had to think about it, she almost felt as if she could distantly understand what it was that these creepy, squeaking voices were saying…

' _Burn the witch.'_

The circle burst into flames, with Aqua inside it. The noise of the plants and dead wood around her combusting and searing away only drowned out by Aqua's own screams. The fire bit into her skin, her flesh, her lungs.

' _I-I… Can't breathe…!'_

She had to get out of here. Immediately.

Focusing all her power, Aqua jumped out of the spell circle, shaking off the flames. As soon as she could, she ran to hide behind a tree, biting her tongue while trying to ignore the pain of her burnt soles as her shoes touched the ground. Then, as soon as she felt out of enemy reach, she cast Cure on herself. The burns thankfully weren't too severe and healed in seconds. Still… That was close.

' _I shouldn't have let my guard down…!'_ Aqua reprimanded herself while peeking out of her hiding place. ' _Still, at least now I know their attack pattern. If I avoid the one throwing the bones and stay away from their spell-circles, I should be fine.'_

The creatures were now back to skipping across the battle-field, trying to locate Aqua for their next attack. She wouldn't allow them to catch her a second time. Now it was her turn. Aqua took aim for the 'sister' with her Keyblade.

" _Freeze_!"

The spell fired and hit its target, which squealed loudly upon feeling its results. Shocked stiff by it, the 'sister' stopped in its track for a moment, causing its 'brother' to hop in surprise. That was all the chance Aqua needed. She stormed out into the field, beginning her full-on assault on the 'sister'.

' _This is the one giving the command for their spell! If I take it out first, the other one probably won't be able to use it on its own.'_

Aqua had just unleashed a finisher on the still-stunned 'sister', when the impact of something small cutting into her shoulder tore her out of her flow. Right! The other one could still attack her to try and save its comrade. Turning quickly and with the goal to not spend any more time than necessary on aiming, Aqua cast another spell.

" _Thunder_!"

Success. The 'brother' was still in range, just barely. The impact of the lightning strike violently threw it to the ground, giving Aqua more than enough time to finish what she'd started. One strike, a second one, a third, and a surge to finish off. Her blade finally cut through the small monster's body, causing it to split into halves, which quickly fell to the ground and burnt up in their own, dark flame. Behind herself, Aqua could hear a loud, angry squeal. Someone here clearly wasn't happy with what she'd just done. The 'brother' was charging at her, throwing one bone fragment after another.

Aqua kept dodging the attacks as well as she could and managed to avoid the brunt of them. Now that the creature was attacking while moving, it would be a little harder to get a proper hit in on it. Harder, but not impossible. In fact, Aqua knew exactly what she had to do. Running from the berserking creature, she took sharp turns closer and closer to the trees. Finally, halted in front of one, blocking the incoming attacks with her barrier. She only dodged out of the way once her opponent was about to collide with her. The monster's head hit the tree, causing it to bounce back in an almost comical fashion, and additionally also shaking lose a few pinecones, which fell on its head. Aqua would have almost laughed at the sight, if the situation hadn't still been so serious. She used the time the monster spent dazed to attack. By now, Aqua had entered her Spell Weaver style once more. All she needed was to get in some powerful, well-placed hits on this thing and then…

" _It's over!_ " Aqua yelled, tearing her Keyblade above her head. Her radiant aura gathered, exploding into a twister of energy that tore her along, commanded by her will. She dragged the creature in with her, whirling it around and around in the storm of her power, until finally, with a pathetic shriek, it stopped holding on to existence. Aqua watched it burn up in its own flame, just like its 'sister' had, as the last traces of her magic faded from her air, and her aura returned to normal. That was it. She'd destroyed the creatures. The fight was over.

"What were those things…?" Aqua wondered aloud, starring at the spot where the remains of her enemy had just disappeared. A certain sense of melancholy, stemming from the monster's negative aura, still lingered. It made Aqua feel uneasy to know that things like these existed in this world, in _their_ world, and, much worse, what would have happened if somebody without the power to wield a Keyblade had run into them.

Still, those monsters weren't what she'd come here for. Now that the fight was over she was right back where she'd started. She'd hoped that defeating those things would at least give her a hint as to where Vanitas had gone, just some sort of clue, but-

"…Huh?" Aqua stopped herself. On the ground not far from her, something was shining in the light of her Keyblade. She ran and picked the item up. "This…!"

An artfully crafted metal ring, which had the emblem of the Masters attached to it by a silver chain. Even broken as it was, Aqua recognized it easily.

"That's Vanitas' bracelet! So, he was here…"

Here, where the creatures had gathered to assault her. A dark suspicion entered Aqua's mind. If those things had attacked her unprompted, then who is to say they wouldn't have done the same to any other Keyblade Wielders who happened to pass by?

"I need to tell the Master about this!"

Closing her fist around the broken bracelet, Aqua threw her Keyblade to transform it and summon her glider. She had to get back to the castle, as quickly as possible.

* * *

Ventus would have been bored if he hadn't been so anxious right now. Aqua left him with more questions than he could even put on a piece of paper. What had she been about to say about Van before she left? Had that stray thought he'd felt been real? Had Van really… left? Even if, that couldn't be what she'd been trying to tell him. She'd looked way too surprised about his words for that. Swinging his wooden Keyblade around while lying flat on his bed, Ventus sighed to himself. Aqua had told him to take it easy, but all this tension was killing him. He couldn't just do nothing! He had no idea what'd happened this morning, or what was going to happen next. Even just trying to think of where to start with unraveling the mess of questions in his head was hard. What should he do? It was then that his eyes wandered to the name carved into the handle of the weapon in his hand.

Terra. Right, Terra always knew what to do! If anyone could walk him through this, it was him. Now, Ventus' memories of what exactly had happened this morning were hazy in parts, but he was pretty sure Terra was the one who stepped when things got out of hand. Maybe he could try and explain everything, and then they could solve it all together! Ah, but for that, he would have to go talk to Terra… Ven frowned to himself. He should stay in bed and take time to heal, Aqua had said, but…

' _Oh, she worries too much. I feel fine! I'm sure it can't hurt that much to go check on Terra. I mean, it's just walki-'_

"-Ouch!" As soon as Ventus' feet touched the ground he flinched a little. For a moment a sharp pain had jolted through his body, from the soles on, up to his chest. Maybe he'd tried to get up too quickly. It seemed fine now though. Alright then. This was okay. He'd just have to try and walk slowly. No big deal. Not how he usually got around, but beggars can't be choosers, right? …He'd just have to take big steps to get to Terra quickly.

His path first led him to Terra's room on the second floor, the stairs to which were a little more annoying to conquer than Ventus would have hoped. Of course, when Ven then knocked on the door only to receive no answer, he moaned a little. Terra wasn't in there, huh? Where else could he be? Think, Ven, think…

The thrown hall was the first thing that came to him. Right, maybe the Master needed something from Terra. It'd only make sense for Terra to be there if so. Ven ran off- _ouch_. Okay, he _walked_ off, steadily aiming for the castle's largest hall.

* * *

Aqua arrived back at the castle just in time to hear the clock-tower's deepest bell ring. A summon from the Master. Did that mean he and Terra had found Van? Returning her Keyblade from its glider-form to its regular shape, she hurried off into the throne hall.

* * *

Ventus was already right at the door to the hall when he heard the bell ring. Great timing! Good thing he'd decided not to stay in bed. If he'd left only now, he'd never have made it in time for whatever meeting it was the Master was calling them in for (and he really didn't like being left out of meetings like these, even if they rarely actually pertained to him or Van, since they were so much younger than the others.) Well, now he was here already. Feeling confident about his choices, Ventus pushed open the door-

"…mustn't let the Darkness have its way with you, Terra."

"I…I understand, Master."

Wait, what was going on there? Terra and the Master were talking, but from the sound of it, it almost seemed as if Master Eraqus was scolding Terra for something. Why? Had something else happened while he was out, Ventus wondered? It felt wrong to just barge in and interrupt the conversation right now, but still, he kept listening.

"The way you acted in the morning was rash and foolish. Had Aqua and I not come, Ventus' wounds might have taken far more of a toll on him. I fully understand why you felt it was necessary to neutralize whatever threat Vanitas was posing at the moment, but your actions were excessive. You let your anger take control of you, Terra. I expected more from you. I know you are _capable_ of more."

"Master…" Terra sighed, his posture slumping. The usually so tall young man looked so much smaller now. "I know I have let you down… And I've let Ven down. But I won't let that happen again. Just let me go on this mission, and I will show how much better I can do!"

"To be frank with you, I was actually going to send Aqua."

"We could both go, right? If we split up, we could cover a lot more ground at once! I-I mean… It is not that I am questioning your decisions, of course. But-"

Ventus had heard enough. He pushed the door open and walked into the room.

"You should let Terra go do it, Master!"

The sound of the young boy's voice caused the two men already in the room to turn for him.

"Ven," Terra said.

Ventus smiled at him, "You'd never let me down, Terra. I don't even know what you two were talking about. I mean, you were the one who saved me this morning, right?"

"Well… I…" Terra didn't seem to quite know what to say to that, yet Ventus still interpreted his answer as a 'yes' somehow.

"See? You're strong and you've been training for ages to get the skills you have now! Whatever kind of job it is the Master has for you guys, I'm sure you can handle it! …Right, Master?"

Expectation in his gaze, Ventus looked at Eraqus. The old Master watched how the boy's eyes sparkled and shone with nothing but pure confidence and trust in his friend. It was enough to make Eraqus sigh. How could he argue with eyes like that? Especially when, if he was truely honest with himself, he agreed with everything Ventus had said. His own faith in Terra was just as great as the boy's. Even so, he couldn't allow himself to be careless. Maybe a compromise could be reached…

"Alright. Terra, you will be accompanying Aqua on this mission. But I expect you to follow any and all guidelines given to you as closely as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master!" Terra bowed, and Eraqus nodded at him.

"As for you, Ventus," Eraqus' eyes wandered to the younger boy. "You should be resting in your room."

"I heard the bell," Ventus explained.

"That summon was meant for Aqua and Terra. Also, had you really come here just because of it, I would not think it possible for you to arrive here just seconds after the bell's last strike has echoed out. What _really_ brings you here?"

Yikes. Caught red-handed. Ventus pulled his shoulders up, as if to hide his head between them. This was so awkward.

"Well, actually, I'd wanted to ask Terra about some stuff… Ah, but I can wait until after this is finished!" Suddenly remembering what sort of important business it probably was he had barged into here, Ventus bowed deeply before his Master – only to flinch when his ribs started hurting. " _Ungh_ -!"

A surprised Terra hurried to the boy's side and helped him stand steady. "Ven, you should really go back to bed. Your wounds won't heal properly like this."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

On this, however, Eraqus had to disagree with the boy. "Ventus. This briefing does not pertain to you in any way. Please go rest in my chamber for now. I will help you return to your room after I've discussed everything necessary with Aqua and Terra."

Eraqus' chamber was located very closely to the throne room, meaning that going would spare Ventus of the torture of having to climb the stairs all over again. Ven couldn't deny that that offer sounded quite nice… Even if not getting what he'd come here for still bugged him.

"Terra…" Ven looked at the older boy.

With a smile Terra put a hand on Ven's head and ruffled the boy's hair. "We'll talk as soon as I'm back from the mission. Alright?"

"I guess so… but…"

Ventus couldn't help himself. He was really worried because of the 'thought' he'd had of Van. Where was he? The bell's ringing should have called all of them to the throne hall, but maybe Van had been hurt just as badly as him, and was still sleeping in bed? He wouldn't miss out on a chance to slack off like that, Ven was sure. Anything that didn't have to do with training or fighting, his twin gladly skipped out on whenever he could.

Still, as much as Ventus wanted to believe that that was all that was going on here, he couldn't shake the feeling that things were much worse than that. After all it wasn't only Van who was missing right now. Aqua, too-

-Speak of the devil, there she came. Running up the stairs to represent alongside her fellow students. Her clothes were dirty, Ventus noticed. Had she been out? It looked like she'd been training or fighting. Probably intensely, too. There were ashes in her hair and fringe of the cloth framing her steps looked a little burned. As soon as Aqua joined the group, she took a deep breath to say something, but then her eyes spotted Ven. She aborted the sentence before even starting it, going for something else instead.

"Ven, you're down here…?"

"He was just about to leave," Eraqus explained. Again, his eyes were on Ven, sternly but still warm. "Ventus, please go to my chamber."

"…Yes, Master." Ventus bowed again, this time only a little, so it wouldn't hurt.

Arguing any longer wouldn't do him much good. Ventus knew that. For now, all that he could do was comply… Well, at least to a degree. He walked through the door and closed it behind him, however, he couldn't entirely restrain his curiosity. Being careful not to make any loud sounds, Ven remained standing on the other side of the closed door and pressed his ear against it, trying to listen in on what was being said.

"Aqua, how did you fare in your search?" he heard Eraqus ask. There was a short pause. If Ventus had been able to see into the hall, he'd have known that Aqua was presenting the broken bracelet she'd found to the Master.

Terra gasped. "That's-"

"Master," Aqua started, still a little short of breath. "I found monsters in the woods. I think Vanitas might have been taken by them."

And now it was Ventus' turn to gasp. Monsters? Monsters took his brother away? But, no, that didn't quite make sense. He was sure that thought he'd sensed was willing. Along the lines of _'I have to go_.' If Van was kidnapped, then how would that match up? Maybe Ventus had wrong about what those dissociative thoughts were after all? He wasn't sure. It wasn't like he'd ever been sure to begin with. He still had no idea what was happening around him. He kept listening.

"Monsters?" asked Eraqus. "By any chance, did those creatures you speak of carry a powerful charge of negative emotion in them?"

"Y-Yes!" Aqua sounded surprised to hear the Master's question for clarification and soon Terra spoke up.

"Master, do you know what it was that Aqua saw?"

"It is nothing less than the reason I summoned the two of you here. Though, I hoped my suspicions wouldn't turn out to be correct…" Eraqus sighed, shaking his head a little before, glancing at the crystal device on the wall behind him. "A short while ago, I was contacted by my dear old friend, Yen Sid. As you know, he is Master no more, but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of Light and Darkness. His council serves as a signpost on the road we Wielders of the Keyblade must walk. All the more reason for concern then, as he read the stars' movements and has me told me that in these past few hours, an unusually powerful Darkness has stirred in worlds close to where the Princesses of Heart reside. I originally was going to send you to investigate the source of said threatening presence, but hearing Aqua's account just now, I am afraid we may already have found it."

"So, the monsters Aqua saw are after the Princesses of Heart?" Terra asked.

"Not necessarily, but it is in the nature of Darkness to seek out sources of Light and attempt to extinguish them. And there is no Light more powerful than the Princesses'," Eraqus said, letting his eyes wander off for a moment. "At this point, he may just be hunting Light indifferently…"

"'He', Master?"

Terra's latest question would not receive an answer. Eraqus took a few seconds longer to ponder the situation, before he continued to speak to his pupils, "The creatures Aqua has encountered are probably the same as a species I encountered myself, years ago. In our discussions on the subject, Yen Sid and I have taken to calling them the 'Unversed'. Fledgling emotions, that have taken physical shape. They are created of negativity and feed on it. A threat to the fragile balance of Light and Dark indeed. So here we are. I need you two to get the situation under control. Travel the worlds and, should you find the Unversed, eliminate them. Above all else, however… find Vanitas."

The urgency in Eraqus' voices heightened when he said this, and everyone else shared his tension. Aqua, who felt convinced of her theory that those creatures must have taken the missing boy. Ventus, who was sick with worry after having heard her suggestion. And finally, Terra, whose thought seemed to be different in nature from those of the others' entirely.

"Master, wait. You just told us the Unversed are chasing the hearts of light, right? Then why would they take Vanitas, of all people? Maybe he's still here. The bracelet being where Aqua found it might just have been a coincidence."

Eraqus, however, shook his head, "I also told you that the Unversed feed on Negativity, did I not? No, I am certain. Vanitas is no longer in this land. And I assure you that following the Unversed's trail will doubtlessly lead you to him. As Aqua suspects, they must be connected to his disappearance."

"So, if we follow the Unversed, we'll be able to bring him home," Aqua thought out aloud.

"Indeed," Eraqus nodded. "Once you find him, it is imperative that you bring him back here, immediately and by all means necessary. Regardless of whether he is willing to come."

Eraqus hadn't barely finished that sentence when one of his students spoke up.

"Willing or not…?" Aqua whispered.

"I'll do it."

"Terra…!"

Aqua was surprised by his eagerness. The tone in his voice worried her. Terra, however, just kept talking, his hands slowly curling to fists. "I still have unfinished business with Van. Like, why he attacked Ven, or his reasons for refusing to talk and running away. The longer I think about it, the more it drives me insane. I want to know what is going on in his head."

"You must not let obsession rule your actions, Terra," Eraqus warned.

"Even so, Master. I need to speak to him. I have to know the truth…!"

The truth about the twins. What was really ailing Vanitas and why Ventus had to suffer for it. Aqua could relate very well to what she heard Terra say. Still, unlike her, the thought to just ask their Master about these things didn't seem to occur to Terra. In fact, Aqua felt as if even trying to bring up that possibility right now would be useless. Even if Eraqus were to give them an answer, Terra's expression made it obvious that he probably wouldn't accept anything other than an explanation and apology straight from Vanitas' own mouth. What had happened between him and the twins this morning had clearly left Terra deeply shaken. Aqua, who had only arrived in time to see the fallout, couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like to watch Vanitas inflict these grievous wounds on his own brother. She shuddered just considering it.

Still Eraqus seemed able to relate to Terra's sentiment. He put a hand on the young man's shoulder, "Very well, Terra, then I'll task you with retrieving Vanitas. However, remember the importance of this mission. No matter what it takes, you must bring him back to me as soon as possible. I trust you understand that this means you may have to make certain very difficult decisions."

"I do understand, Master." Terra nodded firmly.

"Aqua. Support Terra in his search and clear the worlds of the Unversed's presence wherever you find it. Don't leave any trace of their vile existence behind if you can help it."

"I will, Master."

"And lastly…" Eraqus stepped back from his pupils. He made sure he had both their full attention before he continued to impart his next request on them. "You must know that there are those that will attempt to lead you astray. People who would stop at nothing to tilt the scales of destiny in the favor of Darkness, should it even mean to abuse the power of the Keyblade itself."

"There are… Wielders who would fight on the side of Darkness?" Terra asked. Instead of a response he received a deeply pained look on Eraqus' face and decided that he probably shouldn't ask any further. Terra had never seen his Master looking quite as sad as this. Was the man thinking of and remembering someone specific right now?

"Aqua. And especially you, Terra. Should you cross paths with anyone attempting to sway you with teachings foreign to you, should they even claim to be a Master, do _not_ engage with them! I have taught you all you require to know to fulfill your current task. You mustn't be tricked by those seeking to derail your journey. Have I made myself understood?"

"Yes, Master!" Both replied, stiffly bowing before Eraqus in unison.

It was at this point that Ventus realized that rather soon, somebody was bound to come through the door he was still standing by and decided he'd heard enough. If he hadn't already been worried sick before, now he certainly was. Monsters that were attacking worlds all around them? Vanitas, taken away by those monsters? And Terra was going to bring him back… maybe against his will? …Why? With an unpleasant feeling in his stomach to add to the pain in his bones, Ventus hurried to make his way to the Master's chambers and lie down there. He had to think these things over for a while.

In the meantime, Eraqus handed out a couple of items to Aqua and Terra that they might need on their journey; Firstly, a familiar-looking charm in the shape of the Masters' Emblem. He told them to use chains to attach those marks to Vanitas once they found him, however, he gave no exact explanation as to why exactly this was necessary. A vague _'It will still the threat of the Unversed'_ , as all they received. Aqua found this odd to say the least, but she decided not to speak up. Secondly, Eraqus handed them a notebook with golden lettering on the cover each. ' _Report'_ , the volumes were titled.

"Use these books to chronicle the traits and weaknesses of Unversed you encounter, as well as to list any other notable features of the worlds you visit. The pages of these two books are linked. Whatever is written in one will also appear in the other. This way, you will be able to keep another informed of the danger looming ahead. I, myself, am in possession of a third copy of this book right here with me," Eraqus presented the copy in question to his students, and it indeed looked identical. "This way I will be able to follow your progress in culling the Unversed threat as you journey."

Aqua and Terra thanked their Master for these helpful tools and stored them away on their person.

"Now, I have unlocked the Lanes Between. You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others. The Darkness looms closer than usual within these spaces, but your armor will protect you. Finally; Remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds. Now, go and fulfill your duty."

"Yes, Master!"

With this, they were ready to leave. Terra, after professing one more time how he would make sure to not disappoint Eraqus again, ran off to leave the Land of Departure. Aqua was about to follow, when Eraqus put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"Wait, Aqua. Before you depart, there are things I must tell you, and _only_ you."

Aqua looked at Master Eraqus, once more finding an expression of deep worry on his face. She did not know what it was that he found so important to tell her while deciding to withhold it from Terra, yet she felt within her heart that it couldn't be anything good.

* * *

Ventus had fallen asleep. When he woke up, he was still in the Master's chamber and it was dark outside. He sighed to himself. The Master must not have had the heart to wake him up to go back to his own room. Where was the Master right now? Maybe staying in a guest bedroom or still working in his study. In any case, Aqua and Terra were probably long gone by now. The thought of it unsettled Ventus.

' _I fully understand why you felt it was necessary to neutralize whatever threat Vanitas was posing at the moment.'_

' _I assure you that following the Unversed's trail will doubtlessly lead you to him_ _._ _'_

' _It is imperative that you bring him back here_ _,_ _immediately and by all means necessary. Whether or not he is willing to come.'_

The things Master Eraqus had said still echoed in Ventus' mind, like a ghostly whisper haunting the night. It all seemed so ominous. As if the Master had been talking about an enemy rather than one of their own. Yes, Vanitas had hurt him, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to face his brother without feeling seriously scared anytime soon, but there had to be a reason for it all, right? People didn't just suddenly try to do this sort of thing to one another without a reason, did they? (Somewhere deep inside, Ventus felt a stinging as he thought that.) No, something else was going on here. He was sure of it. But, did the others think that way too?

Something came back to Ventus. Terra. It was Terra who went in-between when Vanitas attacked him. When that happened, Terra had pinned Vanitas down, and then- Right. Now he remembered. How angry Terra had looked. How scared he'd been. Vanitas and Terra, they'd both been terrifying in their own ways back then. Vanitas with his uncaring eyes. Terra with his raging eyes.

And now… Terra was going out to find Van…

"If he really finds him…" Ventus thought out loud. "If they fight like that again, one of them might…!"

Ven closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. No, that couldn't happen! He didn't want that to happen! It was wrong, all wrong, they were supposed to be together, be friends, fight for another, not among themselves! But if Terra got to Van before Aqua did, if Terra and Van made each other angry, and then went all out, fighting like enemies, rather than friends, then the result was bound to be awful. Ventus just knew it.

"I can't let that happen!" Ven shook. "I have to do something!"

But how? He was still wounded, tied to bed. Even if he went out now to go after the others, there was no guarantee he'd even be able to use his glider without falling off. Was there really nothing he could do?

It was then that a shine in the corner of his eyes caught Ventus' attention. It was a glimmer he could have sworn wasn't there when he first went to bed in this room. Now, however, there was an item on the nightstand next to him; A small bottle, filled with a golden gleaming liquid. Tied to it with a black ribbon was a tiny slip of paper. ' _Panacea'_ ,it read. Ventus remembered that word. Aqua had told him about it before.

' _This potion is incredibly difficult to make, Ven, but if you can get your hands on it, it's just about the most precious medicine there is. It's said that it can heal almost everything. Sickness, poison, wounds, even bones_ _._ _'_

…That was it! If he took that Panacea, he'd be able to run around and fight again, right? No, what was he thinking. The master had said the mission was for Aqua and Terra only. …But, even so, he couldn't help himself. Hesitation making his hand shake a bit, Ventus carefully picked up the bottle from the nightstand and noticed that something else was written on the other side of the slip of paper tied to it.

' _Do you wish to know the truth?_ ' It said.

Ventus gasped a little. The truth? The truth about what…? The writing still continued.

' _You will never find it here.'_

Somehow, those words resonated with Ven. There was so much he didn't know. Where the others were going, what they were going to see. Where Vanitas had gone, and why. Why he'd sensed his thoughts about leaving. Why Ven had all these weird thoughts to begin with. And how it could be, that any two of the four of them would ever fight like enemies. Those were indeed questions that he would never be able to answer if he just stayed here and did nothing, right?

…Ventus' mind was made up. He uncorked the bottle and downed it in a single, large gulp, not even thinking to test if it wasn't poisoned. To his luck, the contents were true to the label. Immediately Ven could feel the remaining pain in his joints and bones beginning to fade. It wasn't perfect yet, but it would have to do. Terra and Aqua were so far ahead of him already. He couldn't afford to lose any more time. He tucked the bottle away, hurried to put his shoes back on and made for the door.

On the table close to the exit, Ventus found an almost empty notebook lay open. 'Report' it said on the cover. He decided to take it with him. This would be useful in case he needed to make a note of anything important. He would just have to make sure to replace it to the Master later. And apologize. _Oh_ , he'd have _so much_ to apologize for one he came back. Even just sneaking down the hallways as he was right now, trying to get to the front gate unnoticed, he felt guilty. Still, he wasn't going to turn around now. He'd made his decision.

In the dark of night, Ventus swung his Keyblade to open a gate to the Lanes Between that their Master had unlocked, and then, somewhat awkwardly, commanded his Glider to take him through it. Truth be told, he was a little scared. He'd never been away from home before, let away used his Glider to travel to other worlds. It was exciting, but it was also frightening. He had no idea what dangers would await him, but if facing any sort of monsters or evildoers was what it'd take to make sure the others would be coming home safe, he wouldn't hesitate.

Anything to make sure he wouldn't lose any one of them.

* * *

Somewhere far away, in the expanse between worlds, a boy was flooded by more emotions than he could bear. Irritation, Frustration, Spite, Shock… Helplessness and Temptation. They flooded back into him and overpowered him, all at once, painfully, together with the image of a young woman standing over him with a cold gaze before she ended it all.

"Aqua…"

* * *

 **Current Status:**

 **Aqua Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Rainfell (Strength +2, Magic +2, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Silken Ribbon (Magic +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Spell-Weaver (Magic)

 _Shotlock:_ Bubble Blaster Lv.2

 _D-Links:_ Terra, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Terra Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Earthshaker (Strength +3, Magic +1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Energy Bangle (Defense +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Critical Impact (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Sonic Shadow Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Ventus Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Wayward Wind (Strength +3, Magic +1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Element Ring (Magic Defense +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Fever Pitch (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Vanitas

 **Vanitas Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Void Gear (Strength +2, Magic +1, Medium Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Power Chain (Strength +1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Mad Rush (Physical), Destrudo (Dark; currently fixed)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Ventus

 **Unversed Report:**

 **Flood** ( _Defeated_ : 15 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 0 Ventus/ 66 Vanitas)

 **Scrapper** ( _Defeated_ : 5 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 0 Ventus/ 40 Vanitas)

 **Archraven** ( _Defeated_ : 2 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 0 Ventus/ 11 Vanitas)

 **Thornbite** ( _Defeated_ : 3 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 0 Ventus/ 7 Vanitas)

 _ **Wandering Load**_  
These troublesome two attacked Aqua in the woods outside her home. They may look harmless on first glance, but don't be fooled by their promises of sweet gifts and baked goods: The only thing these enemies are going to share with you if you fall for their act is a world of pain. Thankfully, Aqua managed to defeat these prejudiced tykes in the knick of time before they could burn her at the stake. This is a duo consisting of separate two Unversed. Individually, they are called "Gretel" and "Hänsel".  
 _(Associated Emotion: Helplessness (Gretel), Temptation(Hänsel))_

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Wheew, now how to explain this delay...?_

 _First of all, I didn't lie when I said this chapter was already done last time I uploaded. It was. I just hadn't proof-read it yet, and that's where I got stuck with it for the past two months. Life happened. I was dealing with some bureaucratic stuff, helping out some friends and also settling into a new job (love it, got a cool office and all), then I tried to get caught up with my Master's degree studies (I was writing a seminar paper on Gainax Mecha Anime for that.) and some other projects of mine, like my YouTube channel and original writing. Among all of that, uploading chapters for this kind of slipped by the wayside. I actually wanted to have the next chapter done by the time I upload this one, but I'm still stuck on Terra making terrible life choices with that one (spoilers, except not really, because Terra always makes terrible life choices). I'll probably get to finishing that this weekend, hopefully.  
_

 _In other news, my siblings got me a handmade, sturdy replica of Aqua's Rainfell Keyblade for my birthday! It's so friggin' cool, I could just cry. I wish I could swing it around and do cool stunts, but my room is too narrow... *sigh* Maybe I should sneak out into the garden when I'm sure none of the neighbors are watching._

 _The Boss Unversed featured in this chapter are based of a fairytale I thought described Vanitas' current state of mind rather well. This fic will have a lot of original Unversed all around, since Vanitas' emotions in this are very different from how they were in the canon timeline. The battle music for Wandering Load is "The Tumbling" from the Birth by Sleep OST._


	15. Inadequacy

Following nothing but mere descriptions made it difficult to get a grasp on what he was supposed to be hunting after. Terra had been traversing the Lanes Between for two days now, on his own ever since Aqua and he split up almost immediately after leaving behind the Land of Departure, a measure they'd taken to cover more ground in less time. Still, he was beginning to feel that perhaps he should have gone east rather than north- wait. Could you even speak of "east" or "north", when you were traveling between individual worlds? He was following one of the Master's star-maps, but upon closer inspection, there wasn't really anything indicating specific directions drawn onto it, like a compass or even a grid. Alright, "left" and "up" then. Of course, even referring to the directions like that made little sense, given he was moving in a three-dimensional space with no ceiling or ground… Man, this was all so confusing. He just hoped he wouldn't end up getting lost. Not only would Aqua never let him hear the end of it if he did, this mission was far too important to be bungled up by something as silly as a poor sense of direction. He had to stay sharp.

It was still just so very overwhelming to journey like this. In all his time training, Terra had somehow never actually grasped the implications of what it meant to traverse different worlds, all closed off and different from one another. Only now that he found himself faced with so many things he'd never seen before did it begin to sink in. He'd stopped at a few worlds already on his way. Worlds covered in forests, where people lived in small villages in houses built of wood or straw. Worlds that had gigantic cities, like he'd never seen before, with buildings that reached high into the sky, touching the clouds. Worlds where people with superhuman strength battled one another in what appeared to be yet another form of the everlasting struggle between Light and Darkness. So far Terra had never remained much longer than it took him to glance at his surroundings or take a short rest before he moved on. All these worlds were fascinating and he'd really have loved to explore them more, especially to ask these people he had watched battling to protect their homes for the source of their strength, but he had no time for such leisure, nor was he allowed to meddle in their affairs in any way. His journey was for vanquishing the Unversed and finding Vanitas, and nothing else. Of course, accomplishing that would have been a lot easier had he known what exactly to look out for.

Unlike Aqua he had yet to see a single Unversed, and as for Vanitas… The boy could be elusive. Terra knew that just too well. With a sigh, he looked at the Wayfinder in his hand, thinking of what Aqua had said the night she gave them these trinkets. ' _They'd always find their way back to each other_ '… Wouldn't that be convenient right about now? But Terra knew it wouldn't be that easy. As much as he'd have liked to believe in wishes and miracles, life rarely just worked so simply. The incident the other day had been proof of that, if nothing else. But, of course, he didn't want to waste time thinking about that…

It was on the evening of the second day – or rather, about 50 hours after departure, as telling day and night apart was of course futile in this endless expanse between worlds – when Terra found himself approaching another world he hadn't yet visited. A glance onto his map and he recognized that this place was one of three the Master had marked in bright colors and labeled with the word "Princess". Princess? As in, the "Princesses of Heart", perhaps? Terra knew about the Seven, of course. Seven hearts, made of the purest light, not tainted by a single speck of Darkness. Protecting these Seven was one of the most imperative duties of Keyblade Wielders such as himself. Come to think of it, the Master did say that the Unversed had been spotted in worlds close to the Princesses, didn't he?

Terra decided to land and check. If this place turned out to be clean too, that would probably be a good indication that it was time to turn around and travel in a different direction. If nothing else, he could at least take the chance to find lodging for the night and rest. After all that'd happened he could really use a good night's sleep, he thought as he passed the barrier separating his destination from the outside universe and descended upon it.

 **Enchanted Dominion**

An empty woodcutter's cottage in a forest was the first thing Terra found upon taking off his armor and examining his surroundings. At first, he considered spending the night here, but going inside he quickly saw a half-eaten birthday cake and clothes someone had hastily thrown over the back of their chair. People lived here. Whoever they were though, clearly, they weren't at home right now. He could neither just camp out here without asking, nor was there anybody around to ask right now. Under these circumstances it would probably be better to search for another place to stay. After all, if people lived out here, the next larger settlement couldn't be too far, right? Terra walked into the forest.

He quickly realized that there was a silence in these woods that he found very eerie. Back at home, you could always hear cicadas or songbirds in the forest, maybe a frog or an owl or two. A quiet ambience like this indicated that the animals here had been scared into hiding by something or someone's presence. Terra sincerely hoped it wasn't his fault. Disturbing the native wildlife was the last thing he'd come here to do. Though, he supposed, his mood might make him seem a bit unapproachable right now. Maybe his steps were a little too heavy too. No, he wasn't anywhere near as calm as he should have been… Argh, enough of that. He had to stop thinking of what had happened back home. There would be enough time to deal with it once he could confront Van. Once he had found him. Right now, he needed to focus on the mission.

Terra was met with a much more welcome distraction, in the form of a voice breaking through the silence of the forest. A soft, happy melody, accompanied by the galloping of hooves. _"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream~"_ The owner of the trilling voice soon came into vision, a young man on a white horse's back, riding Terra's way. In a jolly mood all-around, the rider stopped when he passed by the Keyblade Wielder, taking off his hat to greet him.

"Oh! Good evening, stranger," he said, smiling from ear to ear. "I say, it's rare to see anyone traverse these woods this time of day. Are you perhaps a traveler?"

"Good evening to you too," Terra returned the greeting. "Yeah, I guess you could call me a 'traveler'. By the way, that's a nice song you have there."

"Why, thank you! I learned it just this morning from the loveliest of maidens," the man sighed, blushing at the memory alone. "I am actually on my way to see her again right now."

When he heard that Terra laughed, "I see! Well then, I wish you good luck with that,… uhm…"

"Phillip," the young man told him, bowing a little. "You may call me Phillip."

"And I'm Terra," Terra replied nodding. "Anyway, Phillip, before we both go our ways, would you mind telling me where I can find the next village or town? I need a place to stay for the night."

"Of course, I just came from there! The castle town of King Stefan's domain is right down this road. Just follow Samson's tracks and you shan't be able to miss it." Phillip gestured to the hoofprints his horse had left. They were deep enough to be seen from a distance.

Satisfied, Terra nodded, "Thank you. That's a big help."

"I'm glad. Well then, I shall be on my way."

"You do that. I'll see you around."

The two young men shook hands before they parted, Phillip continuing his way in the direction Terra had come from on Samson's back, while Terra followed the horse's tracks out of the forest.

' _After everything, it's nice to see someone able to enjoy himself like that,'_ Terra mused to himself as he watched Phillip ride away. _'I hope he has a great evening.'_

It didn't take too much longer for Terra to reach the edge of the forest; an hour at most. Finally, he was crossing a bridge, on the other side of which stood a castle and town truly fit for a king. It was big, much bigger even than the castle Terra and his friends lived in. With that much room, he thought, it should be easy to find an empty room for the night. Maybe he'd come across an inn or something like that. He had some Munny, after all.

Once Terra passed the outer gates, however, all thoughts of rest were immediately wiped from his mind. The sight of what he found beyond had him shocked and stunned. Bodies. Motionless people, everywhere. On the ground, leaning against the walls, slumping on the edge of a fountain. At first Terra feared he had stumbled upon something akin to an outbreak of the plague, but after – carefully – examining the form of an elderly man on the ground close to him, he quickly realized that these people weren't dead nor sick. He sighed in relief. They were sleeping. Every single one of them. Maybe every single person in this town? The entire kingdom? What could possibly cause something like that? Whatever it was, it couldn't have happened too long ago. Phillip had told him that he'd just come from this very town. If he'd known what things were like here right now, he'd surely have brought that up.

Terra continued looking around for a while. No matter what turn he took or which doors he opened, it was the same everywhere. Sleeping people, sleeping people. It was frankly unsettling and put Terra on edge. What if whatever caused this epidemic of narcolepsy was still lurking somewhere in this town? He had to stay on guard. That was why he immediately drew his Keyblade at the sound of a voice addressing him from behind.

"What's this…? Why aren't you asleep, boy?"

Terra whirled around to face the person speaking, finding himself eye in eye with a woman dressed in elegant black, who wore a rather elaborate headdress. Her skin was so pale, Terra would have thought her sick, hadn't she looked incredibly healthy aside from it, vibrantly red lips and a sense of power in her gaze. Terra could feel that he was standing before someone of high authority. Perhaps a noblewoman like a duchess or baroness. Still, he wasn't ready to let down his guard. He kept his Keyblade in front of him in a defensive stance.

"I could ask you the same," he told the lady. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled, tracing the edge of her chin with one of her long fingers. "Why, I am Maleficent, as all who dwell in this kingdom would know." She stepped closer to him. "Now you must reciprocate the introduction. Who are you?"

"My name is Terra." Slowly he lowered his weapon. It didn't seem like she was going to attack him, especially since she appeared to be unarmed - aside from that staff she was carrying, of course. It occurred to Terra that she might be a sorceress. These sorts of people were often studied and wise. If he was going to search for information in this place, this person was a good way to start, he thought. "I came here looking for something. Did you happen to come across a boy with black hair and red eyes who carries the same weapon as me? Or monsters that you've never seen before? Any hint would help."

"A boy? Monsters? I'm afraid I haven't seen anything of that sort." Maleficent said, her face displaying a form of regret so picture book perfect, it seemed downright artificial. "However, as for that weapon of yours… I did come across someone carrying one very similar."

"You did?"

Terra listened up. Another Wielder? Could it be that Aqua had been here already? No, that was unlikely. She had gone off in a completely different direction from him. It had to be a Master or student of another order. Terra remembered hearing that Master Yen Sid, who no longer used a Keyblade himself, had trained an apprentice of his own a few years back, so it was possible.

"Why, yes. He left the castle just a short while ago. It was just minutes before the kingdom fell into slumber, if I recall correctly."

"You mean there's a connection?"

"I can't be certain. All I know is that the poor princess has fallen victim to a curse, and on this sixteenth birthday of hers no less. Some of us fairies have done their best to lessen the effects, by casting the same spell upon the whole kingdom, as to spare its citizens the grief of losing their dear princess until she can be awoken from her sleep in the castle's highest tower, but, alas, that day may never come…"

"And you're saying that the person you saw – the one wielding the same weapon as I – might have been the one who did that to her?"

Maleficent made a vague gesture in reply to Terra's question. He wasn't entirely sure, but he took it to mean that she found it likely that what he suggested was the case. And why wouldn't she? When a stranger comes to the castle, then leaves and the next thing that happens is the princess being found under the effects of a spell, it only makes sense to assume that person is the one to blame. There was only one thing this didn't explain.

"But why would anyone do this? I don't assume the princess has done anyone any harm?"

"She certainly hasn't. But one can never be certain of another's motivations. As I recall, that person I saw did mention something about 'imprisoning the light'. I wonder, did he mean Princess Aurora herself?"

"Aurora…"

A princess, carrying a light. That probably meant she was one of the Seven. A 'Princess of Hearts'. The ones whose safety was the utmost priority for those maintaining balance among worlds. But how did that make sense? Why would a wielder of the Keyblade go and attack one of the Seven in such a cruel and vile manner? Terra then remembered something Master Eraqus had said before they'd departed…

" _There are people who would stop at nothing to tilt the scales of destiny in the favor of Darkness, should it even mean to abuse the power of the Keyblade itself."_

…If a fellow Wielder had caused this calamity, then it was his duty as a Wielder himself to set it right. Terra quickly scanned the surrounding streets to find what he believed to be the quickest way to the castle gates.

"Thank you. I'll be on my way now," he told the lady as he turned away from her.

"Oh no, young man. I must thank you."

He didn't take a moment to think about the meaning of these words before he ran off, hurrying to the inner gates of the castle. It was easy enough to get through. All doors were wide open, and with the guards just as asleep as everyone else around, there was no one who would have stopped Terra. After a little trial and error, trying to find the correct staircase to the top, eventually he reached a door he couldn't open with his bare hands. A closer look told him that it was sealed with magic – not the kind that couldn't be dispelled with a Keyblade, however. How strange. Why would a fellow Wielder make the mistake to not proof the door against the use of a Keyblade, if they really wanted to keep the princess' light trapped here? Oh well, Terra didn't have the time to worry about details like that. The sooner he could right this mess here and move on, the better. He stepped back, swung his Keyblade and pointed it at the door. A radiant beam of light broke from Earthshaker's tip, hitting straight at the door's lock and casting cracks into the magical barrier extending from it. A second later, it was done, and the door was unlocked. Now Terra could step inside unhindered.

The chamber he entered was fairly large. It appeared to be a bedroom, but not one that had been used very much. The cupboards all looked rather empty aside from a few necessities here and there. And yet, when Terra turned to his left to look at the bed – there she was. He held his breath for a moment. How stunningly beautiful. He'd known that he was going to see a princess, but this girl… The way she looked was more than just royal. It was as if someone had caught a ray of morning light and given it human shape. Her lips were just the same color as the rose she was holding between her fingers, maybe even deeper. Could this sort of beauty even be natural? If he hadn't already been sure that she was one of the Seven before, he certainly was now. This was just what he'd always imagined Light in its purest form would be like; breathtaking and awe inspiring. And yet, Terra couldn't help but find himself thinking of something else, something very different as he saw this scene. This young, innocent person, resting in their bed, trapped in a sleep they might never wake from…

"This feels so familiar…"

"Her heart is filled with Light – Not the slightest touch of Darkness."

It was Maleficent's voice. When had she come here? Terra hadn't heard the door open, and if she'd come in along with him, he was sure he'd have noticed. Alarmed, he turned around. It really was her, the same lady as before, not at all looking exhausted like one who'd just chased upstairs after a trained warrior like him.

He didn't like the smirk on her face at all.

"It's just the kind of heart I need," Maleficent declared, that same smirk widening.

"For what?" Terra asked. His fingers twitched, but he wouldn't summon his Keyblade, not yet – Before risking a fight in this room, where the poor Princess slept, he'd have to make sure it was absolutely unavoidable first.

"Imagine with me, the most glorious of futures," spoke the lady in black. "Seven of the purest hearts, each overflowing with Light. When brought together, they grant the power to rule all worlds."

"What do you mean...?" Terra liked this situation less and less by the second. Maleficent had clearly been withholding information from him during their conversation earlier. In fact, it seemed like she even knew the truth about the Sev-

"Why, that key you hold… The _Keyblade_ , is it called?"

Terra snapped to attention at once. Earthshaker summoned, he took a stance, placing himself protectively in front of the princesses' bed.

"Where did you learn that name!?" he demanded to know.

That other Wielder she'd mentioned couldn't have broken the rules so gravely as to even tell her about this, could they?

"That trinket is the only way to obtain those hearts."

She _knew_. This was a catastrophe, one he'd have to inform the Master of as soon as possible. Right now, however, he had bigger fish to fry. Like, for example, dealing with that obviously power-hungry woman right in front of him. A 'fairy' she'd called herself? That probably meant her magic was powerful. He'd have to be careful. Learning to properly counter magic was the one thing Terra had never quite got the hang of he wished he did in all his years training. His loss against Aqua during their sparring match the other day came to his mind again.

"No more games! Who did you meet, and what did they tell you!?" Terra yelled at the fairy, only realizing a second later that this was perhaps the wrong way to engage an opponent who already had a tactical advantage over him. And, sure enough…

"Impudence will get you nowhere, child. If you wish answers, you must retrieve Aurora's heart."

"And why would I ever wanna do that?"

At that, Maleficent showed the widest, most devious grin he'd seen from her so far, "It's not a matter of "why", but of will."

* * *

Back at home they didn't have ice-cream often.

It took a long time to prepare the batter, and even once that was done, the various spells needed to make the process work without the use of machines – continuous freezing and motion for hours and hours on end – were simply too much work to dedicate time to them more than once or twice a year. When they did have ice cream, however, it was always a special occasion, like Terra's birthday ever summer, or to celebrate one of them mastering a particularly difficult technique. Even if out of the five people living in the castle two weren't generally big fans of sweets, ice cream was one of the few exceptions. As long as it was prepared accordingly they all had at least one or two flavors they liked. Dark Chocolate or Sea Salt Ice Cream, for example.

Would they ever get to have ice cream together this year, Aqua wondered?

She sat on a narrow chair made of bamboo and straw, staring at the strawberry-topped sundae on the table before her as it melted away bit by bit. She'd spent Munny on this in hopes that it would help her calm down a little. Make it easier to sort out her thoughts. Instead, she now felt more perplexed than ever – both by her own actions and those of the people close to her.

She'd sent Terra off into the orbital zone of a world called Radiant Garden, a place much further up on their star-maps than any of the locations of the recent Unversed sightings that the Master had pointed out to her on the map. That way, he was sure to stay out of trouble for a while, giving Aqua the time to assess the situation and decide whether it was safe enough to allow Terra to carry on with the mission alongside her. It'd been the Master's own suggestion that Aqua do this; Everything to assure that Terra wouldn't be in danger. But what kind of danger had he been talking about? Even though Eraqus had explained it all to her in such detail, Aqua still didn't feel like she quite understood. Her head was reeling.

It was all about the Darkness. The Darkness which they were supposed to fight and prevent from spreading. The Darkness which had broken Ventus' body and even heart. The Darkness which had caused Terra to yell and flail and generally act irrational when dealing with a crisis right in front of him. That same Darkness that was now driving one they'd called their friend away from them. Eraqus had used the word to describe all these different circumstances, but the more Aqua thought about it, the less it made sense. Vanitas' 'Darkness'. Terra's 'Darkness'. There was Darkness in Aqua herself as well, right? There must have always been. It was human to carry blemishes and weakness in one's heart. But if that was so, then what was different right now from how it had been all these years? Why would a Darkness that had always been there cause one to attack one who'd been his brother for so long? Why would a Darkness that had always been there make Terra less worthy of the Master's trust today than he'd been the day before?

To start with, what _was_ Darkness? Just something you feel, a useless storm cloud that blocks out the light, leaving you cold and without orientation, or was there more to it? She'd never thought too much about it before, but after all she'd learned from the Master two days ago, she couldn't help but wonder.

The melting ice cream in front of her nose wouldn't provide answer to Aqua's questions. She knew that. Maybe she should just get to eating it already, regardless of how devoid of appetite she felt. She needed the sugar-boost to replenish her mana. After two days of looking around random worlds to cull any stray Unversed she could find, she felt rather low on energy in general, though she supposed the constant fighting wasn't to blame for that entirely. It was really lucky she'd found a calm world like this one to rest. Surrounded by beautiful cliffs and emerald valleys, the waves against the nearby shore and the sun in her hair, she'd have found this place to be a perfect vacation spot at any other time. Apparently, this island was called 'Kaua'i'. She'd overheard some of the other customers in the café refer to it as such. It would sure be nice to come back here someday, when her mind wasn't so laden with worries.

As she looked around with a spoonful of half-melted ice cream in her mouth, allowing the beauty all around her to distract her for just a precious minute, Aqua's eyes passed the sight of a small group of little girls wearing skirts made of palm-fiber on the sidewalk nearby. They appeared to be quarreling about something, but she didn't think too much of it and looked out to the ocean in the distance for a bit, until loud shrieking and high-pitched yells caught her attention. Aqua looked back to where the girls had been and saw that two of them were now on the ground. A black-haired one and a red-haired one. The black-haired girl was punching the redhead, while the redhead yelled insults at the black-haired girl, trying to push back.

Yes, what was Darkness, if even children, who were supposed to be innocent, could be this angry and hurtful to one another? Was it really a sin, a sign of weakness, to act on these feelings now or then? Even as Aqua ran to help, a couple of other adult bystanders separating the fighting girls, questions and doubts rang in her mind.

* * *

There were two things that King Michael I. of the House of Mouse disliked above all else in the world: Formalities and inaction.

He'd been an adventurous soul through and through, brave and curious to a fault, sometimes even with a bit of a mischievous streak. Even earning the right to the throne had been something he'd lucked into over the course of one of his adventures, rather than the result of any actual ambition to rule, but once the people had made their decision to make him king, there was little that could have changed their mind, not even Mickey himself. Of course, there had been those that hadn't been too happy with that outcome. Mickey still couldn't help but chuckle a little whenever he remembered how desperate Donald had been to prove himself worthy of the crown in his stead. To this day there were still some citizens unaware that these frantic cries of " _Donald Duck!_ " in the widespread recordings of the Kingdom's royal anthem were, in fact, not originally supposed to be there. And, of course, once all grudges had been put aside and everyone had settled into their new roles, what followed were the weeks upon weeks Mickey spent trying to get Donald and Goofy – and, in fact, _everyone_ – to stop addressing him by his full name and title. It just felt awkward. Weird, even. It wasn't 'him'. Thankfully, he eventually managed to make everyone settle on using 'King Mickey'. Now, he could have really done without the 'king' part, but it was a start. Then again, he _was_ the "king", he supposed, even if he often still found that concept hard to grasp. Everyone else might have called him royalty, but to himself, it'd never felt like he'd ever been anything other than just 'Mickey', the friendly neighborhood mouse with a knack for getting himself into trouble without meaning to.

If he were honest with himself, Mickey would have had to admit that it was probably these feelings of being overwhelmed by his titles and duties as well as slight inadequacy that had caused him, once again, to leave his kingdom and continue his training under Yen Sid, sorcerer and former Master of the Keyblade. Back here, he was just a student. Just a simple Sorcerer's Apprentice. There was no burden of authority on him, no expectations to know better than anyone else. The Master taught, and he listened. He enjoyed how much simpler things were here. He may have told Minnie that he was coming here to refine his magical abilities and swordplay further, but knowing her, she'd probably figured out the truth even before he'd left. The people may have made him king for his leadership skills but when it came to ruling with patience, foresight and a clear understanding of the hearts around her, Minnie was clearly the more qualified of the two. He felt safe whenever he left the kingdom in her care, even if putting all these responsibilities onto her shoulders time and time again made him feel quite guilty. He had to learn to be more responsible, even under pressure. He owed that much not only to his people and friends, but especially to his wife.

So, he stood in the room next to his Master's chamber and mopped the floor. Manually. Without magic. Patiently. In great boredom. Up on the shelf, Yen Sid's books rested temptingly… No, no, no! Focus, Mickey, focus! Not every problem could be solved with a witty plan or magic. Sometimes, one needed to work diligently and hard. Back, forth, back, forth, the very much non-magical mop slid across the floor. At this rate it'd take him at least an hour to clean this room, but that was the point. Cleverness and wit alone wouldn't always save him. There were two things that King Michael I. of the House of Mouse disliked above all else in the world: formalities and inaction, but they were also two things he couldn't escape. He'd always be the king and there would always be situations that could only be resolved with diligence, steadfastness and patience. Virtues he had yet to master.

But focusing on the task at hand could be so difficult when there were so many potential distractions all around him, such as the gadgets and mirrors, shining from every wall and corner in this room, or the voices he could hear from the door to the Master's chamber… Voices? Was the Master talking to someone in there?

" _I understand you are worried for your students' safety, Eraqus, but I cannot say that I approve of your actions."_

" _What else could I have done? If what Vanitas warned me of is true, Xehanort may have his eyes set on Terra."_

" _So, you have trust in that creature?"_

Mickey couldn't help himself. Leaving the mob abandoned by the wall, he curiously leaned in closer and closer to the door, finally putting his year against it. Master Yen Sid sounded serious. What sort of 'creature' was he talking about?

" _Vanitas may be a creature of Darkness, but he was also my student, for whatever short time it may have been. I did not detect malice or deception in his words when he spoke of his encounter with Xehanort, merely fear. Whatever Xehanort is scheming, it must be terrifying. Enough to make even a creature like that boy worry for Terra's wellbeing."_

"' _Worried', you say?"_

The Master sounded doubtful as he said that, and in accordance the man called Eraqus remained silent for a short while, before resuming the conversation.

" _I'm sure Light had touched that boy… I'm certain of it…"_

" _And yet, he attempted to end Ventus' life. Now the Unversed roam the worlds, endangering the very Lights we were meant to protect. Eraqus, as well-intentioned as you may have been, you must admit that this experiment of yours was foolish. We are now facing its consequences."_

" _You need not remind me. I am well aware of my part in this calamity, Yen Sid. All I desire is for my students to make it through unharmed. So, I plead to you, old friend…"_

" _Of course, I understand. Should I find a sign of Ventus' presence in any of the worlds, I will tell you immediately. And of course, I will also attempt to inform Aqua of the situation, should she come into my reach."_

" _Thank you. And, as for Terra…"_

" _I will inform you should I hear of anything to indicate that Xehanort has made a move."_

" _I am in your debt."_

The conversation ended here, and silence fell again. Mickey took a step back from the door. There were dangerous creatures out there, threatening the light? And some people were in danger too? What were their names again? He'd heard the name "Terra" several times. Apparently, that person was in danger of some kind. Then there were two very similar names, what were those again? "Vanitas?" And "Ventus"? One of them was apparently an ally of Darkness, and the other one had almost been killed. That didn't sound good at all. Then there was also a mention of someone who could help, called "Aqua". And apparently, another especially dangerous person called "Xehanort". Whoever it was Master Yen Sid was speaking to, they seemed very scared of that last person. Oh boy.

With so much danger out there, were the worlds going to be okay? Mickey was beginning to feel antsy. Itchy, even. What was he still doing here? If there was danger out there, and the worlds needed help, he couldn't just stand here and mop the floor, right!? He had to do something! …Then again, if the Master had wanted him to do something, he probably would have told him so, right? Right.

Mickey sighed. What a dilemma. Patience and diligence. Patience and diligence. But was this really the time for that?

Right this moment, something terrible may have been happening to somebody out there. The thought alone was enough to make a mouse's stomach turn.

* * *

It had just been a moment. Just a feeling, like dizzily staggering through a dream, unclear and filled with fog, not knowing where up or down are, and not caring either. It felt like no time had passed at all, but when Terra came too, he'd already done something unthinkable.

The trembling heart of Princess Aurora, radiant and pure, rested in Maleficent palm. The princess herself still laid in her bed, but somehow she seemed so much more lifeless than before now. As if the color had been drained from her skin and lips. As if the warmth had been sucked from her body. Terra sensed no energy from her, no light. Not even a spark. The sight was terrifying. He wanted to scream at it, but the sounds wouldn't even come, his throat closed up on him. Instead, he turned to Maleficent and glared, wishing her dead when he saw how her long fingers traced around the princesses' radiance.

"What did I do? What did _you_ do!?" Terra yelled, as Maleficent sent the captured heart away to parts unknown.

"You speak as if I pulled some invisible strings," the dark fairy answered with a smirk. "No, you couldn't be further from the truth, child. I simply whispered to the Darkness you already held inside."

He wanted to respond to her, deny it all, but how could he, when the proof was right there, right before him? Feeling his own pulse hammering in his chest, Terra stared at the empty shell that used to be Princess Aurora. One of the Seven. He'd taken her. _Stolen_ her. Just like the person who'd once almost stolen Ventus' life away.

 _He was going to be sick-_

"Now, as for your question regarding the location of your fellow wielder. I'm afraid I cannot answer that. However, I do know his name…"

Terra only vaguely recognized the sound of footsteps behind him when Maleficent approached. He felt so numb to everything. Here he was, almost wishing himself back to sleep, while that cold, cruel fairy continued to speak at his back.

"Xehanort. That is the name of the man who told me of the wonders of these 'Keyblades' you wield. I suppose you deserve to know at least this much."

"…Xehanort?" Terra mumbled, gently holding Aurora's hand. That name meant nothing to him. But if she was right, it was the name of a wielder. Someone who'd broken a taboo. One of their most holy ones.

"Yes. It was he who made me aware, that it is the Keyblade which is necessary to gather hearts," Maleficent was now right behind Terra and he could feel her long, elegant fingers stroking his shoulder. "Join me. Collect six more hearts of pure light. Then we will rule all the worlds together!"

Terra felt nothing but disgust at those words.

"…You seem to be confused," he turned and spat in the fairy's face. "I'm a peacekeeper, not a tyrant!"

"Hmpf. For a peacekeeper, you're off to an exceptionally poor start." She was laughing at him, and he couldn't even counter her words. "Remember this: The Darkness in your heart cannot be held back by force or strength." That said, Maleficent stepped away from Terra. "Now, my work here is done. As is yours."

"- _Wait_!"

But even if she did wait, what was Terra to do? Fight her? End up being controlled again? He didn't know, not even as he attempted to chase after the lady and struck out against the dark flames into which she vanished. Her presence burnt away before his eyes without a trace. All that Terra was left with was Aurora's hollow shell and the pit in his own stomach. Maleficent's mocking laughter echoed out into the darkness of the night, which had fallen upon the kingdom.

Then, there was silence.

For what must have been hours, Terra just sat there on the ground, staring at that bed and his hands. He didn't cry. He didn't feel it was his right to. However, what he was supposed to do? He had no idea. This was not a situation anyone, even his Master, could have ever prepared him for. After all, it was never supposed to happen.

"Her light was stolen because I was weak…" He told himself.

He should be trying to get it back. That was the one thing on his mind. It was his duty, no, his _due_ to go out there, chase after that witch and take back what he let her steal! But even if he did so, what would happen? Terra could still recall that dizzy, lightheaded feeling, like floating in a nightmare in which nothing seemed to be real, and no values seemed to exist. Had that really been the Darkness inside of him, taking control of his being? If he went to confront Maleficent, would she bring it out again? And then, would she use him, to not only take Aurora's, but so many other helpless hearts he was supposed to protect? He didn't even want to imagine it. There was no way he could risk...

He was already at the edge of the forest when he noticed his body shaking, his fingers going cold as ice. The thought of encountering Maleficent again alone was enough to put him into such a state of terror. He could no longer deny it to himself. That witch _frightened_ him.

What was this nonsense? His Master hadn't taught him to be a coward in the face of Darkness! How could he falter when he had a sin to atone for? How could he even begin to atone when just the thought of approaching the den of his deceiver left him feeling so pathetic?

Terra remembered Eraqus' words after the incident the other day. How he'd told him that he'd expected more of him, claimed that Terra was capable of more. Right now, Terra didn't see how that could possibly be true. On his mind, there was only failure. He fell to his knees.

"I am weak…"

He'd been training for years, and yet here he was. Too weak to fulfill his mission. Too weak to make his Master proud. Maybe even too weak to _match Aqua's skill, to be admired by Ven, to be superior to-_

"Ungh-" Terra clutched his hands to fists in the ground, his nails digging into the dirt as he did. He punched a nearby rock. "No..! I need to...!"

He shook his head first, then the rest of his body, trying to shake off that gross, pathetic feeling that'd been clinging on to him for a whole while now. Finally, he rose from the ground, his eyes fixed on the sky above. Terra steeled his heart, firing determination into the words that then followed.

"I _need_ to learn how to stand up to the Darkness. Then I'll get back your Light. I swear it, Princess."

Even though his words were addressed to Aurora in the castle behind him, he turned them to the sky, where he knew the others were. People important to him. For some reason, Aqua's and Vanitas' faces appeared especially clearly to him in his mind.

He felt as if they were laughing at him.

* * *

 **Current Status:**

 **Aqua Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Rainfell (Strength 2, Magic 2, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Silken Ribbon (Magic 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Spell-Weaver (Magic)

 _Shotlock:_ Bubble Blaster Lv.2

 _D-Links:_ Terra, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Terra Lv.1**

 _Keychain_ : Earthshaker (Strength 3, Magic 1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Energy Bangle (Defense 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Critical Impact (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Sonic Shadow Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Ventus, Vanitas, Maleficent

 **Ventus Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Wayward Wind (Strength 3, Magic 1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Element Ring (Magic Defense 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Fever Pitch (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.1

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Vanitas

 **Vanitas Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Void Gear (Strength 2, Magic 1, Medium Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Power Chain (Strength 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Mad Rush (Physical), Destrudo (Dark; currently fixed)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.3

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Ventus

 **Unversed Report:**

 **Flood** ( _Defeated_ : 23 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 8 Ventus/ 96 Vanitas)

 **Scrapper** ( _Defeated_ : 13 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 6 Ventus/ 64 Vanitas)

 **Archraven** ( _Defeated_ : 4 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 2 Ventus/ 16 Vanitas)

 **Thornbite** ( _Defeated_ : 7 Aqua/ 0 Terra/ 0 Ventus/ 10 Vanitas)

 _ **Wandering Load**_ These troublesome two attacked Aqua in the woods outside her home. They may look harmless on first glance, but don't be fooled by their promises of sweet gifts and baked goods: The only thing these enemies are going to share with you if you fall for their act is a world of pain. Thankfully, Aqua managed to defeat these prejudiced tykes in the knick of time before they could burn her at the stake. This is a duo consisting of separate two Unversed. Individually, they are called "Gretel" and "Hänsel". _(Associated Emotion: Helplessness (Gretel), Temptation(Hänsel))_

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Life has been busy, you guys. Stupidly busy. Comes with studying and working a job while also running a YouTube channel, I guess, but I can't complain. Life may have been stupidly busy, but it's also been good. I just hope I get to update this more often._

 _Before anyone asks, yes, I did see the recent trailers for KH3. Very excited for all of the new worlds. I don't think bringing back all of the Proto-Organization was a good idea, but we'll see how it plays out. I'm fairly sure that the big twist that has everyone screaming is actually a fake out. It's too soon before release to just reveal something like that and KH trailers have a history of faking us out. Remember the BbS and 3D trailers?_

 _Fun fact, I have a headcanon that Terra was born in the world "The Sword In The Stone" takes place in, hence why he knows about the Black Plague here. Incidentally, I think Aqua comes from the world Arendelle is in, tho not from Arendelle itself. And yes, Terra stopped by the Marvel Cinematic Universe on his way and Aqua is currently hanging out in LiloStitch Hawaii. Cameos, because I can!_

 _Mostly Terra Torture and exposition this chapter. There will be more plot in the next one. Hint, check the defeated enemy counters above-_


	16. Effort

How do you describe the first touch of morning rays in the day without waiting for the dawn to come and demonstrate? It's not an easy thing to do. There isn't just one specific 'way' it feels to have that light brush over your skin. It can be invigorating, or it can be tiring. It can be nostalgic or full of anticipation. Motivating or melancholic. In the end, the emotions morning light could evoke in a person were as varied as the sorts of mornings a person could have.

Today, the morning light that little Ventus felt on his skin was both excitingly cheerful and mind-numbingly unnerving. It was odd, walking down Daybreak Town's streets in tow of the two girls who had declared themselves his new party just minutes before. But it was also a nice feeling. He couldn't wait to see what the rest of the day would bring.

Even so, the Vanaheim sisters were far more inquisitive than he would have liked. Their first day had barely begun and Ventus already found himself overwhelmed with questions and exposition.

"So, what's your name?" asked Gudrun.

"Um, it's Ventus-"

"Whoa, that's, like, way too long and tacky! Can I call you 'Venny'?"

"Ah, how is that-"

"How about 'Ven'?"

"Y-Yeah, sure!"

"Great! 'Ven' it is! Alright, what's your title?"

"Um, my ti-?"

"Sigrun and I are known as the 'Valkyries of Vulpes'! Isn't that cool!? People sometimes get it confused for our party name, though. Because, we're the only members, y'know… Or, we were! Until now!"

"Um..." Ventus had no idea what to say, so he just chose to walk a few steps further away from Gudrun, who was giddily bouncing by his side. Behind him, he could hear someone chuckle.

"Slow down, Gudrun. You're gonna make our poor newbie's brain melt if you keep going like this," said Sigrun.

Those words, combined with Sigrun's calm tone, prompted Ventus to position himself a few steps closer to the pale girl.

"So, um..." He began to talk, hoping for a more reasonable conversation than the one he allegedly had with Gudrun just moments before. "Anyway... t-thanks for taking me in. I-I mean... I really a-appreciate..."

"Kid. Calm down. You really gotta lose that stutter." Sigrun rolled her eyes. "Nobody's ever gonna take you seriously if you can't get through three words without having to repeat at least one of them. So next time, make sure you got enough air before you talk. Got it?"

"U-Um! Y-Yeah, I think..."

"What did I just say?"

Ventus took a deep breath. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Sigrun."

"There we go!" she smiled, softly patting Ventus on the back. "See, was that so hard? By the way, you can call me 'Sig'."

"And I'm 'Gud'!"

"...Call her 'Gudrun'."

Gudrun bounded around in front of Ventus and Sigrun merrily as the two of them talked, Sigrun explaining some basic things to Ven about his new party. Their mission times were from eleven in the morning to five in the afternoon, with briefings at breakfast. They were fairly active, aiming to clear all daily and most weekly missions as they came, and their focus laid on climbing the rankings to earn rare items that would cost them thousands upon thousands of jewels otherwise. That said, being the small party they were, the two of them had never managed to climb especially high in the group rankings before.

"Still, I've got a feeling that things are going to change from now on," Sigrun added.

"Huh?" Ven furrowed his brows. "Um, why is that?"

"Because we've got you now, silly!" Gudrun burst out in front of them and, much to Ventus' surprise, Sigrun nodded. Ven blushed. Did they really think him being there would make a difference? That thought alone brought a smile to his face. He laughed.

They went on to assess his abilities next. Gudrun begged Ventus to show her his 'shiny', by which she meant his Keyblade. He brought out his Wayward Wind.

"A backhanded Keyblade?" Sigrun voiced her surprise.

"It's kind of hard to use," Ventus admitted. "I sometimes gotta swap Keychains for missions. It works a little better with my left hand though. Sometimes, when things just click, I can pull off some really crazy fast combos with this."

"Oooooh, I wanna see!" Gudrun leaned in close. "Show! Show! Show!"

Clearly, one could not simply deny such a convincing request for demonstration. Ventus spent a few minutes showing the sisters his favorite skills and specialties, using his favorite wind magic and doing a couple of other tricks. Finally, an assessment was given.

"Whoa, you use loads of speed-type moves!" Gudrun's fists were pumped. "Everything's just going so fast."

Sigrun seemed to agree, "You soar by like a bird flying with the storm once you get going... That's it. That's what your title should be. 'The Swift Wind'."

"Swift Wind..." Ventus repeated, rolling the words on his tongue a little. He had to admit, he quite liked it. It was pretty cool. Again, he ended up blushing. Nobody had ever commended him with such a cool title before, or rather, any title at all. It couldn't hurt to use this one, he told them, and Sigrun looked satisfied, whereas Gudrun's eyes glowed with enthusiasm. For the rest of the day, the dark-skinned sister refused to address Ventus by anything other than by the entire term _'Ven, the Swift Wind_ ', which quickly did a number on the title's novelty. By the fifth time, being called that had ceased to be anything other than annoying. One more reason for Ventus to avoid Gudrun's line of sight and stick to her sister.

As discussed, they went out for missions at noon, scouting the sites of the world the three of them had been given access to by Chirithy for Lux and treasure. Their roles were quickly established; Sigrun would make contact with the native folk of the worlds gathering information, while Gudrun would take care of adjusting everyone's equipment according to the situation. Ventus was put in charge of keeping watch for Heartless and calling the group together to battle. Their cooperation went smoothly. By the time nightfall came, the three could regroup in Daybreak Town to count and split the spoils of their adventures.

"Whoa... I've never seen a fragment like that before..."

"It's a class six," Sigrun explained to Ventus, turning the glowing medallion in her hand. "Magic Type, high damage, high range... One usually needs to pay good money to get their hands on this kind of thing."

"And we got it for free! Lucky!" Gudrun sing-songed, splitting up their hard-earned jewels among the three of them. "Oh, talking of money, look at all this cash! Hey, hey, Sis, you think we could...?"

Sigrun rolled her eyes. "Sure. Why not. Not like we should be saving our jewels to get more equipment later, right?"

"Awww, c'mon!" Gudrun pouted. "Just this once? We still gotta celebrate Venny joining~"

"J-just 'Ven'..." Ventus corrected, uncomfortably shifting where he sat. Oh, what he wouldn't have given to make Gudrun settle on just calling him "newbie" or something...

Speaking of Gudrun, she wouldn't let off. Nuzzling close to her sister and making noises like a hungry kitten, she insisted on her pleas to be headed. Finally, Sigrun let out a loud sigh.

"Fine. We'll go have cake. Happy now?"

"YAY!"

Gudrun's boots hit the pavement for just a second before she bounced off again. For once, her joy actually infected Ventus. Cake with his new party… That actually sounded really nice! Just sitting down somewhere in the perpetual dawn, taking your time to decide what you want. Something sweet, but not too sweet. Then sharing it with the people with you. Your teammates… friends? Were they friends already? That was nice to consider. Maybe he could go as far as to call them his friends? Even if Gudrun was a bit weird. And Sigrun a little intimidating.

Things continued just like that. An evening, just like he'd imagined it, eating a snack and talking and laughing together with people who seemed to really enjoy his presence. It was nice, it really was. When nightfall came and Ventus retreated to his quarters, Chirithy even commented on his bright mood. He neither could nor wanted to hide what a good day it had been, all in all.

 _But seven days later, he was alone again._

Wait, why? How did that make sense? Wasn't it still the same place a week later? The same dawn, the same morning light? No, not quite. It was a different kind of morning, which meant that nothing was the same, even if nobody but him knew, even if no one else understood. Nobody else felt the morning light by the fountain the way Ventus did seven days later. Nobody cried like he did. Not even Master Ava got to see his tears, because he had wiped them as soon as he saw her approaching him.

See? That's why it's pointless to think things are going to get better. It never lasts, does it? No matter how sure you feel, you don't know what's in everyone else's hearts. You don't know what they're thinking or why they do the things they do. And that's why eventually you're bound to be alone again.

…Hm? You say that's not true? You think it's still worth seeking out the next bright morning, even if you're not sure when that will be? What an odd thing to say.

…You don't regret meeting the people who've gone either? You're glad you shared those memories with them? You think they were worth meeting, regardless of how painful to remember they are now? I don't understand that at all. Why would you think that makes sense? Why would you want any of this? Doesn't it hurt? Isn't it agony, just to think about these things, just to remember them? Don't lie to me! There is no way you don't find it just as painful.

…But you don't understand? That's right, you could never understand. _Of course you wouldn't._ Because all you ever look at are the bright days. All you ever see are the things that went well and the things that got better, you don't look at the things that you messed up and the things others screwed up with, the things _that got broken, were destroyed and died. You're a coward, who runs away from all the things that are so much more real, so much more permanent than any nice dream or wish or hope we could ever have! And because of that, just because you are such a damn coward and cling with your life to all those bright things, all I'm left with is-_

* * *

He woke up by hitting his head on a dusty crossbeam right above him and found that he'd been spending at least the last part of his nightly rest strangling a Flood with both hands, his fingers digging deeply into the small creature's body. As soon as he was awake enough to process all of this information, he tightened his grip and crushed the Unversed's neck between his fingers. The rush of irritation that overcame him as his body reabsorbed the creature mixed with the pain from the bump forming on the bruised spot on his forehead, which somehow made it more bearable, because that way he could at least pretend that it was said physical pain that was irritating him, rather than the Unversed's existence. The whole attic was crawling with them by now. The dream he'd just had, however vague it seemed now that he was awake, had evidently been enough to bring a whole legion of them into existence while he was asleep. They were everywhere, zipping all over the place, catching cobwebs on their limbs and other protrusions as they did. Disgusting. He'd have to get rid of these before moving on.

By now he'd gotten rather good at tolerating the sudden rush of emotions that came with destroying Unversed. It was still a feeling that made him want to hurl, but preferable to what it felt like to have them roam about, tiny fragments of himself just escaping. The sooner he put those things out of their misery, the sooner he didn't have to deal with that gross feeling anymore. He now used that mantra as a motivator to keep himself from spawning even more upon destroying them. It helped a bit with suppressing the overflow of emotions as long as he slew them himself, which was much preferable to the sudden, uncontrollable burst of feelings he experienced every time somebody else killed them. Whenever that happened, he ended up leaking out more of these damned beasts than he wanted to try and count. That's why he now tried to take care of not letting any more of them slip away from his sight before he could cull them, but he didn't quite manage. A handful would always get away, one way or another. Like right now, even as the attic appeared entirely cleared of the Unversed's presence, he could feel clearly that some of them were still alive, having snuck away in the shadows and escaped outside before he could get to them. Vanitas cursed under his breath.

Well, no use crying over spilled milk. He wanted to keep a cool head. The last thing he needed was even more of his leaking emotions to clean up after. The sooner he got ready to move on, the better. He'd gotten used to this routine now, traveling around, trying to distract his thoughts from all sorts of feelings until he grew tired and searched for a cave or an attic or basement to rest. Then, after waking up, he'd clean up the mess his feelings had inevitably made while he was asleep and get back to roaming. Somewhere in this unusual way of spending the day there must have been an exciting tale to tell, but so far Vanitas had found it nothing but dull and upsetting. If that was how his days would be from now on, what was the point of getting up in the morning to begin with? He'd just have stayed down and tried to sleep for the rest of his life, hadn't he known that the Unversed spawning around him would sooner or later cause someone to find him, and he was not keen on learning what would happen if it ever came to that.

The attic was cleared now. No use trying to chase down the Unversed that had escape, he couldn't sense their locations precisely enough to make that work. He'd have to take care of them later, if he came across them. They tended to try and return to him sooner or later anyway. For now, there was only one thing left to do. An old, ornate mirror stood in the corner of the room, its surface long fogged over by dust and cobwebs. Vanitas stepped close and wiped off some of the dirt with his left hand, just enough so he could see his own form reflected in the glass, still clad in that familiar, black attire which clung to his flesh like a second skin. It was time for the daily routine. Of course, the attempts at his last three hiding places had all been no good, so chances were nothing would come of it this time around either, but, hey, he had nothing better to do. Trying probably wouldn't hurt. He straightened himself out and took a few deep breaths.

' _Alright. Here goes. Calm down. Breathe... Calm...'_

Meditation. The act of emptying your mind and heart of thoughts and emotion for the moment. One of the parts of Eraqus' training he'd always despised the most and tended to skip out on. He just wasn't especially good at it… Which was to say, he sucked. A lot. It came with your entire existence being comprised of nothing but emotion, thought and memory, he supposed, but that didn't make it any less _annoying_ how hard it made it to pull off this certain little exercise- Annoying? No, stop. Wait. Calm. Breathe. Get that thought out of your head. Don't let any more of your emotions leak out. Right. Calm. Breathe. Calm, breathe...

This... 'form' of his… It was made of the Darkness his body emitted, right? It followed that, if it were to not emit any Darkness for the moment – or, at least, if he emitted a lot less – that this form too would cease to be. So, at least, went the theory. He hadn't been able to test it yet. The past couple of days had been too much of a drag. It was difficult to focus on not being pissed when it felt like the world had just decided that nothing good you'd ever earned or owned was allowed to last. But it'd been days now. Things had changed a bit. He'd started to get somewhat 'comfortable' with things. Roaming around on his own and seeing other worlds wasn't half bad. There'd been some cool places. Giant buildings, ancient ruins, endless paths, wide oceans to run along and test his skills on. He'd even found some shimmering rocks and interesting looking gems along the way. Maybe he'd be able to rebuild his collection. Yeah, these were things he liked. The freedom to go where he wanted and do as he pleased, without anyone trying to tell him about right or wrong. Just letting loose and following his urges. No schedules, no rules. He slept and ran as he wanted. That was nice. He was doing these things all on his own, and they were enjoyable. 'Fun', even. Just a little bit...

A softly tingling feeling took Vanitas out of his introspection. At first, he was surprised and wanted to turn and slash the air in case there might be something or someone close by, but the scare only lasted for a moment before he looked at his hands and saw what was going on. Dark, stringy fabric gradually grew thinner and receded into his flesh until what was left behind was just smooth skin. Vanitas quietly mouthed a gasp. He actually did it. There were his human fingers, his palms, his arms... Even the clothes he'd worn before his encounter with Xehanort were back, as if they'd never been gone at all. The bracelet Eraqus had made him wear four years ago was still missing, of course, but aside from that, he was back to normal. Right. This was 'normal' for him. It was still somehow weird to realize that he felt that way…

 _'Either way, I look human enough like this. I'm not going to attract any attention,'_ he thought, running his fingers down the skin of his arm. _'Like this_ _,_ _I can figure out what to do next. Find a proper place to stay, I guess. Something to spend my time on. Somewhere nobody's gonna bother me and I won't get bored.'_

What kind of place would that be? Some house far off any bigger settlements, probably. Somewhere with a forest or something. He could spend his days gathering and making stuff to trade in for food in the next-best town when he felt like it. Just to keep himself occupied. That could probably work somehow. ...Of course, none of that was actually _supposed_ to be necessary, was it? In fact, it felt beyond redundant to even think about it. He'd already _had_ a place like that! Right, he had had a place to sleep, a place that had kept him occupied, a place where he could eat even when he didn't need to, a place _with people that actually made it interesting and fun to get out of bed every day_ _,_ _until_ -

-Something boiled over, much too suddenly. A brief rush of pain and it burst out. He couldn't stop it either. Within only a couple of seconds Vanitas' form reverted again back to his dark-suited self, taking from him the apparent humanity he'd only regained a minute or two prior. Down on his knees, the boy glared at the mirror, then spat at it and struck his fist against it without a second thought.

"-Ungh! _DAMN IT_!"

The glass shattered, raining down left and right of him. He didn't care. Seeing something break that wasn't him was far too satisfying right now. Though the mirror's shards dug into the fingers of his suit, they didn't go in deep enough to breach his skin. Not deep enough to let him see if he could still bleed. That idea alone sickened him even more. _Sick_. That's what this felt like. He was sick of this form, sick of the Unversed, sick of the memories of how he'd gotten here, sick of wondering where the others were right now and what they were doing-

What would Aqua think if she saw him like this? Would she scold him for breaking the mirror? Would she try to make him feel better?

How much did Terra hate him? How deeply did he wish him dead right now?

Was Ventus smiling right now? Was he having fun?

Why was he even asking himself these questions, Vanitas wondered? Past was past. He couldn't 'undo' anything. There was nowhere to go back to. But there was nowhere to move on to either, was there? The Wayfinder clacked against his thigh, still dangling from the same chain it had been on when he'd left the Land of Departure. No matter how many times he'd considered it, he could never quite bring himself to throw it away.

He left that attic behind before the nobleman it belonged to could send a maid up to investigate the commotion that had been caused up there. Maybe said maid would have had to take the blame for the broken mirror, hadn't Vanitas destroyed it entirely before leaving – so cleanly that no trace of its existence was even left behind. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd done that. It wasn't out of anger. He'd just heard the voice of that maid noticing the commotion he was making upstairs. The idea of a stranger getting punished for absolutely no reason just felt a bit… gross to him. He couldn't quite explain it.

Moving in the shadow of the trees of the grove close to the estate he had left gave him some time to consider where to go next. There was a river he could follow, then there was also a path that led in another direction, and in the exact opposite direction from that there was a castle. No one of these ways seemed more promising than the other. That was probably because he had no idea where he wanted to go. After all, his plan of integrating into society had just plain fallen through. No way anyone was going to just leave him be as long as he looked like this. And that wasn't even mentioning the Unversed… In defeat, Vanitas collapsed down under an ash tree and groaned. Trying to keep his emotions in check while considering his current situation was hard work. He needed a break. Taking out a small bag of sunflower seeds he'd picked up from a market somewhere along the way, he started to snack a little. The taste was the closest to nuts he'd gotten in a while, which right now was almost good enough, he supposed. Of course, some real food would have been a lot nicer. Maybe he should consider hunting for some dinner? That'd at least be a good excuse to kill something. Just as Vanitas thought that, a white dove floated down from above, landing close to the boy's feet.

' _Coo-coo, coo-coo._ ' The bird pecked around on the ground for a bit, before raising its neck and fixing its big, round eyes on the humanoid towering over it. For a short while Vanitas considered grabbing for the bird's neck and making good on his dining intentions, but he stopped when he realized how scrawny and frail the dove looked. Just skin, feathers and bones. Not even worth the effort killing. He sighed.

"So much for that then…"

' _Coo-coo_! _Coo-coo_!'

"Oh, you shut up."

Not even worth properly raising his voice. Honestly. Vanitas leaned back against the tree behind him. Maybe a little nap would clear his mind. He closed his eyes.

' _Coo-coo!'_

"…You still here?"

What a pitiful bird. Even with just one eye opened halfway, Vanitas could see the little thing hopping around aimlessly close to his leg. Didn't it have enough energy left to fly away, or was it just trying to annoy him? Either way, he didn't even feel like shooing it off. But how to make it stop coo-ing at him? That was when Vanitas realized what the bird's eyes were really been pining for. It was the little satchel of sunflower seeds, that still rested in his hands. They weren't really food, barely even a snack. But to stuff a bird's beak enough to keep it from making noises, they might just suffice. That was what the boy thought to himself when he absentmindedly picked a couple of seeds out of the small bag and tossed them to the ground. It was kind of funny, watching that small creature's head bob as it picked the seeds up from the grass, one after another. Vanitas, feeding the birds. Now that was something Terra would never let him live down if he ever caught wind of it. But Terra wasn't here. No one was. Vanitas was alone, nobody would ever know, so clearly nothing about this slightly amusing pastime mattered. However, just as he was thinking that-

" _Ahh… Now that is really much better!"_

"…What?"

Vanitas did a double take as soon as his mind started processing what had just happened. The bird had just started talking? And now it started glowing. And now, with some sparks and some glitter, the bird grew and grew, until it finally reached the size and form of an elderly, quite well-fed woman in blue robes.

Another double take.

"W- _Wha_ -!"

Whatever tiredness and boredom Vanitas might have felt before was gone now. He got up in one leap and summoned his weapon, ready to strike at the slightest hint of motion. The old lady, however, raised her hands and motioned him to calm.

"Now, now, my child! This is no reason to panic. Though I know, my entrance may have been a little startling…"

"A ' _little startling_ ' is what I call it when someone opens a door in my face," Vanitas hissed, very busy channeling his shock into spite. "Is that what sorceresses around here do for fun? Turn into wildlife so you can sneak up on travelers?"

"Oh goodness, no!" The old lady laughed, softly, waving her hand. "Believe me, if I needed to entertain myself I'd find much better ways to pass my time than that. Besides, I'm no ordinary sorceress, my child. I am a fairy."

"A fairy." Vanitas raised a brow, Keyblade still brandished.

"Yes, indeed! A fairy godmother. One who watches over children whose hearts shine with belief."

"…Sure." The Keyblade came down, though it was not dismissed. "And that's why you pretended to be a bird and ate my lunch."

"And I do thank you for that! I really was in dire need of a little pick-me-up."

"Right."

Fairy or not, this conversation was quickly proving tiresome. Even if it did seem like this old lady really wasn't looking for a fight – Vanitas currently judged her to be about as dangerous as a cross between a basket of kittens and a meadow of pretty flowers – he still already had more than enough of a reason to question her general level of sanity. He'd have said that he didn't have time for this, but that would have been a blatant lie. If anything, he was worried that interacting with this loon would make time appear to pass even _slower_. Therefore, an unimpressed Vanitas shouldered his Keyblade and turned to leave the site of conversation.

"Oh? Leaving already? Aren't you going to do something about these?"

At the fairy's question, Vanitas took a glance behind him to see what she was talking about. The sight he was greeted with was so obvious, and yet to groan-worthy. A group of about ten Unversed was aimlessly tumbling through the air. Right. He _did_ lose his composure for a moment when he saw that lady transform. Annoyed, the boy pressed a palm onto his face and moaned a little.

"Just… stay out of my way," he told the fairy-godmother. Then he pulled his weapon up and proceeded to 'do something', as she had put it.

* * *

 **INFORMATION: Take out the Unversed!**

* * *

As mentioned before, this sort of thing was routine work to him by this point. That didn't mean it didn't hurt, but it was negligible. Unversed born of surprise and shock. He'd dealt with this type quite a few times already. As long as you didn't let their sudden motions and elemental attacks take you off-guard, they were quickly disposed of. It was more effort than he'd wanted to take, but well, at least now he was doing something. Any occupation was better than being idle, in a way. Even one as cumbersome as this. Even so, he was very relieved when the last of the Red Hot Chilis finally exploded and was consumed by its own flame, its energy returning to his body. Quiet returned to the woods.

For a moment, Vanitas relived the surprise he felt upon seeing the old fairy appear before him. In retrospect the emotion didn't have quite the same punch anymore. In fact, now he actually found his own reaction back there a bit silly. Almost funny.

"Well, someone seems to be enjoying himself." The lady in the robes remarked, approaching Vanitas as the fighting concluded. He finally dismissed his Keyblade.

"No, not really. You get used to it."

"But you do seem to be feeling a lot better now. You are smiling."

"…Hm?"

Was he? Well, maybe he was. But if so, only because of how ridiculous he found his own loss of composure just now. Whatever the case, the fairy gave a smile of her own. "To have one's emotions manifest as creatures like that… What odd children you find from time to time. I followed you because I sensed a great, frightening Darkness. But in its stead, I found a believing heart."

"I guess you really are a 'fairy'. No normal person would see the Unversed and stay calm like that," Vanitas couldn't resist from rolling his eyes a little as the lady mustered him. "And what do you mean 'believing heart'? Someone you ran into?"

"I am talking about you."

"Yeah. Not likely." The fairy's words mystified Vanitas, but he wouldn't let curiosity get to him. In the end, all that mattered was 'going somewhere', whatever that may entail. "Anyway, if you're really someone who looks out for 'shining hearts', then you're clearly in the wrong place. I saw a town or something down that path over there, I bet they've got some spoiled children's bedrooms where you can go pretend you're a robin or something. I've got my own issues to take care of right now."

Before he could try to leave, the fairy responded to his words, "Wouldn't you like a little help with that?"

Vanitas looked across his shoulder, back at her. "I already told you, I am-"

He couldn't finish the sentence, because just as he looked back at her, a beam of some sort hit him right in the chest. What was going on, was this an attack? He flinched away, wanting to counter the magic and strike back with his own, but quickly he realized something was odd. Yes, that light hurt him a little, but not in the way it hurt to be struck or hit by a shot. That bit of pain he felt, it was more like the dread before having to get out of bed in the morning, and it also had to it an almost gentle and oddly familiar quality. When he opened his eyes, he was still standing, unharmed, and definitely not under attack. Instead, he felt the familiar touch of fabric against his legs and arms.

"…Huh!?"

His eyes wide open, Vanitas looked down to find himself restored to his 'other' form. The very appearance he'd been failing to hold just this morning.

"What… Why…?"

"Ah, so this is what you normally wear. Well, not exactly local fashion, but it will have to do. I'm not exactly entitled to give you much more than a tiny push, you know. Oh, and also, this will not do much about those creatures, I'm afraid. The rest will have to come from yourself."

Was there an Unversed for 'utter disbelief'? Probably not, because if there were, it would have appeared already. All the more chance for Vanitas to try and put his confusion into words.

"I don't get it… I told you, I'm not… Why would you…!?"

"Yes, it may be true that your heart isn't exactly 'shining' with belief," the fairy confirmed, her hands folded neatly over her chest. "But I do sense a strong faith inside you. Given your… unusual circumstances, that really is commendable. I do think that conviction deserves to be rewarded."

"Conviction …?" He would have laughed at that, hadn't he still been so stunned.

The fairy remained undeterred. "Besides, you did share your provisions with me. Are you meaning to tell me generosity should not be rewarded either?"

"The seeds…? You realize I stole those, right?"

"Yes, so I saw. You didn't have any money on you to buy anything. Yet you went for the cheapest thing on the market table. Even though there were so many other, more expensive things you could have taken. Why is that, I wonder?"

That rant kept Vanitas quiet up for a moment. Him and the fairy starred at each other for a good twenty seconds, before the boy finally broke eye-contact. "Tch… Stalker."

"What I am trying to tell you is…" The fairy stepped closer and bent down a little to be on eye-level with him. "Even if you yourself don't realize it, there is a certain shine to your heart that should be encouraged."

"A 'shine'?"

"It's 'effort', my dear," she said. "It takes effort to hold on to one's hopes and try to move forward towards the light when it seems darkest. And as long as you show that effort, this form too will be yours."

"…And if I stop trying, I'll revert?"

"That's the idea."

Vanitas stood up straight. "In other words, you're trying to motivate me to do my best."

The fairy smiled and nodded. Her eyes rested at a certain spot on Vanitas' belt. It didn't take him long to realize that she was looking at the star-shaped pendant dangling from it. "It isn't as if I'd done much, child. All I did was wave away a bit of the raincloud hanging over your body. You aren't one of my charges, after all. Still, if you feel as if what I did put you into my debt in some way, I could ask a little favor of you…"

Vanitas looked up from the Wayfinder, at the fairy, "A favor? I don't remember saying anything about wanting to pay you back."

"But you were going to look for work, weren't you?"

…Just how much did that old woman know? This _had_ to be some kind of immoral breach of privacy.

"What if I was?"

"There is a house right down that way, where a girl lives who has far too much work on her hands for a single person's good."

"One of your charges."

"I am just saying, she might need someone to help her get done with it all. It is the night of the ball after all."

"The night of the ball…?"

By now he had an idea of what this glorified grandma was trying to accomplish, but Vanitas was still confused as to how she'd come to the conclusion that he, of all people, was the right person for the job. How desperate did a fairy have to be to turn to something like him to help her do her job? Well, even if he asked her, he probably wouldn't get a proper answer. It didn't even seem like she was going to properly reply to the questions he'd asked already.

"Oh, my goodness, now look at the time. Now that is quite enough dilly-dallying, my boy, we should both hurry along!"

"Hurry along where?" he asked. "I wasn't going anywhere."

"But if you _were_ to hurry along, you _could_ be going to the Tremaine Chateau, just down this path!"

She was talking about the street just a few meters away from where they were standing. If her wording alone wasn't enough to assure him of that, the fact that she gave him a push on his back to move him in that very direction definitely did clue him in. Of course, Vanitas did not appreciate being pushed around (literally) a whole lot, and he was just about to turn around and give the fairy a piece of his mind with the help of his fist, when he found the spot behind him empty. The self-proclaimed 'fairy godmother' had disappeared. Vanitas was left with a path in sight and the choice to either take it or not take it.

"…"

Grumbling to himself, the boy packed away his belongings and got on his way down the street the fairy had pointed out. It really wasn't as if he had anything better to do, was it?

* * *

 **Dwarf Woodlands**

There was an important lesson learned today. Little men don't like it when you touch their shiny rocks. Not in the slightest.

"Ugh…"

Ventus was pretty much dragging himself through the forest by his Keyblade. His body hadn't quite been acting as he wanted it to ever since he'd left home. He wasn't in pain exactly, but his movements were a lot slower and clumsier than he was used to, and he sometimes had trouble holding his balance. Side effects of the panacea, maybe, or perhaps he wasn't fully healed yet after all? Whatever it was, it took him an entire afternoon to chase down those tiny miners with their stubby legs in their caves today, which had to be some sort of negative record for him. It didn't help that even when he finally got them to talk to him, he couldn't find out anything about the others from them. He still had no info on either Terra, Van or even Aqua. Then there were those weird creatures that would attack him occasionally ever since he'd left home. The notebook he'd taken from the Master's room luckily had some notes on them – what were they called, Unversed? In any case, he'd been taking some notes of his own on them whenever he found the time. Just in case he needed a reminder on anything. Good thing too, that he didn't have to rely on his training and sick body alone to defeat them, because those things really creeped him out. He couldn't quite explain why. All Ven knew was that if given the choice between spending an afternoon in a room full of hungry tigers versus a room full of those Unversed, he'd have taken the tigers any day. There was just something about those monsters. They seemed to be fixated on attacking him and nothing else whenever he ran into them, too…

He didn't know how long he'd been following this river, but finally Ven's luck seemed to turn when he came to a clearing and found a small cottage. His face brightened. More people, maybe? However, a look at the tiny windows and diminutive door in front of him made Ventus realize exactly what he was standing in front of.

"Oh, this must be where those little men live." He sighed a little. So much for asking someone else for his friends. Still, it was pretty cool, seeing a house built for people that small up close. Did they build it themselves, he wondered? Did they use tiny blueprints to do it? Did they have tiny chairs inside with tiny plates on a tiny table, and tiny tableware to go with it? And some tiny beds to sleep in? Just thinking about it all made Ven feel a little giddy and he laughed, only stopping when he considered that it might be a little rude to think those sorts of things about someone else when they're not even around. Even if tiny people and tiny things were pretty novel to him, for those men it was just their normal, everyday life, right? He had to consider that.

Ventus didn't get to think about whether he could allow himself to go inside and rest for a little while without asking first. A piercing scream from deeper inside the woods took Ven's attention first.

" _AHHHHH_!"

What was that? A girl's voice? Well, regardless of who it was, they clearly needed help. Shaking his still somewhat numb body as awake as he could, Ventus dashed off into the forest to find the voice's owner. Just what in a world that seemed as peaceful as this one could have happened to scare them so badly?

* * *

He'd known magic was a thing in this world. He'd tried to be prepared. What he hadn't been prepared for was for the queen to banish him into her mirror and sic its spirit at him.

Terra was starting to feel dizzy. This fight was absolutely everything he hated having to deal with. His enemy was airborne, swift and knew how to teleport, projectiles of pure magic were flying all over the place, the battlefield was nothing but a shapeless void with no features or constants to use as a focus or angle-point and to top it all off, the spirit kept using illusions to protect itself from Terra's attacks. How was he ever going to break out of this place? Gnashing his teeth, Terra dodged another round of shots from all directions. He had to come up with a strategy to take out this thing, quickly.

Let's think. This mirror's powers were connected to the queen's enchantments, weren't they? Maybe it would help to treat it as if he was fighting the queen? …No, that line of thought was useless. He didn't even know anything about that woman, other than the fact that she was a sorceress and incredibly vain. Also, vengeful, apparently. That part would have been good to know before he decided to waltz into the throne room and loudly declare that he refused to bring her the Princesses' Heart. Well, hindsight is 20/20. Not that Aqua would probably agree with that assessment. He could practically feel her glare on him and hear her exasperated voice asking him what in all the worlds he'd been thinking. Hm, right, Aqua… She was the closest point of reference he had to fighting an enemy like this. Was there any way he could apply that here? Even if they were both magic users, Aqua was a completely different sort of fighter after all. To start with, she had limbs. Also, a decidedly less creepy laugh. Focus, Terra, focus. There had to be _something_ he could use to form a strategy, right?

' _Illusions…'_ Terra thought, while running circles to escape the projectiles the surrounding copies of the spirit were shooting at him. _'When Aqua uses illusions as a diversion, they're never more than afterimages of the real thing. So even when it looks like there're ten or twenty of her, there's always only one that is real. I can tell the difference by keeping my eyes open and watching for sudden movements, but…_ None _of these things really move.'_ He grimaced, looking through the circle of masks closing in on him. _'They're all exactly same, they all do the same things, they all look the sa-"_

-Wait. There was something… He was sure he just saw the corners of one of their mouths twitch. Was that one mask… _smirking_ at him?

"- _There_ you are!"

Terra threw himself in the direction of the smiling mask and tore his Keyblade high up into the air. He was going to shatter this thing in one strike! –Darn. He was too slow! Before his weapon could even touch its ugly grin, the mask-like creature slipped away, escaping his attack. What now? Terra stayed on guard as he saw two rows of yet more illusionary spirits line up to his left and right. Again with the bullet barrage. He had to be faster this time. Where was the real one now? There, the fourth one to his right! He charged up his blade and surged towards the target. However, this time he only managed to grace it before the spirit pulled away again, once more escaping his grasp.

"Grrrr…! Hold… STILL!"

This was getting to be infuriating. Terra felt an overpowering anger welling up in him. Wait, no, he couldn't just let his emotions take control of him. This was exactly how he'd let Maleficent manipulate him too! How he'd allowed her to use him to-

Terra shook his head, _'No, I'm stronger than that. I have to be. I won't lose control again. I won't be swayed by the Darkness!'_

There it was, swaying from, side to side, creating afterimages in its path. This time he'd focus, only looking at the real instance of the spirit, striking at it with calm, cold precision and force, at exactly the right time. Terra raised his Keyblade.

"Ha…. _AHHHHHHHH_!"

He struck, hitting the spirit's form dead center. The Earthshaker pierced through its face like a knife, springing cracks all over its surface, finally causing it to shatter like porcelain.

" _P-Powerful…!_ " The spirit's dull voice exclaimed as it recognized its defeat by Terra's hands.

The voice echoed out, the void shattered along with its owner. Terra found himself feeling lightheaded as the world around him disappeared. He was bathed in a warm light...

He was back in the queen's personal chamber, just where he'd stood before, as if nothing had ever happened. The monarch glared at him, exasperated.

"H-How did you escape!?" she yelled.

Terra, however, was done with listening to this wicked monarch's requests and questions. It was finally his turn, "Now you'll ask the mirror: What do I need to do to protect the Hearts of Light from the Unversed?"

The queen's eyes shone with a rage that marred her alleged beauty almost to the point of outright ugliness, but even just a doth of Terra's hand, insinuating that he might be ready to fight should she refuse, was enough to scare her into complying with his demands.

"Magic Mirror, instruct this knave! Give him the answers he doth crave."

The mirror spoke in a dark, foreboding tone. " _To halt the Darkness_ _,_ _as thou desireth, quelling its source is first required._ "

"What does that mean?" In spite of Terra's follow-up question, the mirror remained silent. "…Thanks. You've been a big help."

All the acting-skills in the world wouldn't have been enough to mask the thick layers of sarcasm dripping from Terra's voice as he marched out. So this entire detour had been one big waste of time. Dealing with that queen, accidentally scaring one of the Seven to death and fighting that darn mirror, all for nothing. Terra would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, had it not been so infuriating. He'd lost an entire day in this world, and all he had to show for it was a handful of lesser Unversed defeated. The local wildlife could have dealt with those just as well. Did that mean he actually hadn't made any bit of progress ever since leaving home? No, it was even worse than that; the… incident with Princess Aurora meant that not only had he failed his mission so far, he'd already caused just as much damage as the Unversed, if not even more.

' _This needs to stop_ _._ ' Terra told himself as he reentered the Lanes between. _'If I don't learn how to push back against the Darkness soon, I'll… I'll…'_

He didn't actually have a concrete answer to that. All Terra knew was, that it was about time he stopped acting like a disappointment and disgrace to his Master's name and put some effort into acting like one of the Keyblade's chosen was _supposed_ to act. That was the least that should be expected of him.

* * *

It was a plenty weird forest, so Ventus really couldn't blame the poor girl whose hand he was holding for getting so scared when the shadows of the crooked trees played tricks on her eyes. He was just glad nothing bad had actually happened to her. Actually, he almost regretted going after her when, as soon as he joined up with her, something that looked suspiciously like _real_ monsters started attacking them. Did those 'Unversed' things follow him into the forest? It was kind of hard to tell with how dark this place was. Whatever the case, he managed to chase those things away rather easily and, just to be sure, he also convinced Snow White that it had just been more creepy shadows. He didn't want her to get frightened all over again when he'd only just managed to calm her down.

"And you are quite sure that there is a place I can stay down that way?" the young girl asked Ven again.

"Absolutely positive! It was a house, with a door and everything. It's a little small, but you're not too big yourself, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Oh, but to just go and stay in someone else's home is such a rude thing to do. Hm… Perhaps I should try to make myself useful and earn my stay. What do you think? "

Ventus briefly considered the girl's suggestion, "Hey, actually, the place did seem pretty dirty! I didn't pay much attention to that, but… maybe your plan could work!"

"Oh, how nice!" Snow White clapped together her hands. "I am quite good at housekeeping, you see, but I've never worked for pay of any sort before! This sounds so very exciting."

"Aren't you a little young to think about looking for work though?" Ventus asked. Judging by her height, the girl was just a little below his own age, and he wasn't even old enough to take the Mark of Mastery. Snow White, however, smiled.

"I don't mind making myself a little useful! After all that has happened back home, maybe it is time for me to live on my own… Though, it would be so much nicer to live with the one I like most, I suppose." She sighed a little. "I wonder what he's doing right now."

"A friend of yours?" Ventus asked.

"My prince!" the girl answered with a radiant smile. "He and I have been seeing each other from time to time. Hah, how worried will he be when he finds I'm not back at the castle anymore…"

"Uh… Would you like to go back then?"

"Oh! Oh, no!" Snow White waved her arms around in some distress. "I have no such intentions! Not anymore! I will find him again one day, I am sure. Until then, I will just have to work hard and live life on my own."

"Huh…" Ventus tilted his head a little. "You know, I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"Well, for someone so small, you're strong! You looked so scared earlier, I was worried you couldn't make it out here on your own, but when you're talking like that, I can't help but think you're gonna be just fine."

"Why, thank you!" Snow White laughed. "Though I will have to admit, it still is rather frightening, knowing that I might be on my own until I can meet my prince again."

"Don't you have any other friends? Or a family?"

At that, Snow White's expression darkened a little. "I am afraid my stepmother has not been much of a family to me."

"So, your real family is… Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it is alright. Even if I don't have anywhere to return to right now, I am sure I will find another place to call home soon enough- Oh!"

The sky above them lit up for a moment, painting odd shapes in-between the branches and holes in the trees. If you squinted, they looked like grimaces and figures. Snow White flinched and cowered behind Ventus' back, clinging to his arm for dear life.

"No, oh no! Them again! They've come to take me! Please, send them away! Please make them stop!"

The little girl sobbed into Ventus' shirt, shivering in her crouching position. Ven sighed. That was lightning just now, right? There had to be a thunderstorm brewing somewhere close by.

"Hey, Snow, cheer up. It's just the trees again, see? Nothing to be scared of. I told you, it's not real. It's like a bad dream, you know."

Snow White's sobbing got a little quieter. She turned her head up. "A… bad dream?"

"Yeah!" He smiled and nodded at her. "And as soon as we're out of here, you'll be awake and it'll all be better." They really had to hurry up with that too. If there really was a storm coming up, they needed to get back to that cottage as soon as possible.

"Say… Ventus?" Snow White tugged his sleeve a little as she was getting up from the ground. "I am terribly sorry to ask but, do you have bad dreams often?"

Ventus stopped to consider his answer a bit. Then he nodded. "Yeah, I do. Especially lately."

"Oh dear…" Snow White shrunk away a little. "That sounds oh so terrible… To feel as frightened as this every night. Say, what do you do, when you dream terrible things like that?"

"Well…" Ven crossed his arms. That was a good question, actually. What _did_ he do? Was it anything all that special. "See, last night for example, I had this one nightmare… I'm sure I've had it before, it felt really familiar. I was making friends with people I didn't really know, and they didn't really know me. I was scared that they might not like me, but it worked out! We had fun together, talking and eating, and doing other things too…But then all of a sudden..."

"Yes?" Snow White urged him to continue.

"They… disappeared." What was this feeling? So cold and anxious. It was just a dream, but even just remembering it caused Ventus to shiver a little. Snow White picked up on that and clung closer to his arm. Oh boy, he was making it worse now, wasn't he? That wasn't the point of the exercise. Shaking his head a little, Ventus got his thoughts back on track. "I don't really know what happened, but I was scared too. It felt like there was a voice telling me that people are scary and that I'll always be alone in the end, no matter how hard I try.

"How horrible…"

"But you know…" Ventus took Snow White. "It's okay. Because as soon as I woke up, I just told myself: 'That's not true!' Because I know it's not. I've got friends out there who'll always have my back, no matter what happens between us or how far we're apart. I trust them, and they trust me. So, no matter how far away from home I go, I know there'll always be somewhere they're waiting for me." Ventus reached into his pocket and pulled out the charm inside. Even though there was barely any light in this forest, the Wayfinder still picked what little there was and sparkled as he held it up above his head. "As long as I keep trying to find them, I'll get to them. I just have to put in a little effort."

"I see. What a wonderful idea!" Finally, Snow White let go of Ven's arm. Standing a little taller, she stepped forward. "It should be the same for me too! As long as I keep trying hard and don't let fear take all my strength, I'll have a home with my prince one day. I do believe that, with all my heart."

"See? Then you've already got nothing to be afraid of."

"How true! I don't!"

Ven and Snow White looked at each other, bright smiles on their faces. They laughed a little. Now that they'd had this conversation, the forest suddenly didn't seem quite as dark anymore. Had the dark cloud moves above moved elsewhere, maybe? Well, whatever the reason, they both felt invigorated. Ven held the Wayfinder up towards the tops of the trees one more time before he put it away and motioned his companion to start walking with him.

"All it takes is a little effort…" He quietly said to himself one more time. Right. He'd have to be sure to remember that line the next time he woke up crying again.

* * *

 **Current Status:**

 **Aqua Lv.3**

 _Keychain_ : Rainfell (Strength 2, Magic 2, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Silken Ribbon (Magic 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Spell-Weaver (Magic)

 _Shotlock:_ Bubble Blaster Lv.2

 _D-Links:_ Terra, Ventus, Vanitas

 **Terra Lv.2**

 _Keychain_ : Earthshaker (Strength 3, Magic 1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 25%, Damage x1.2)

 _Equipment_ : Energy Bangle (Defense 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Critical Impact (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Sonic Shadow Lv.2

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Ventus, Vanitas, Maleficent

 **Ventus Lv.3**

 _Keychain_ : Wayward Wind (Strength 3, Magic 1, Short Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Element Ring (Magic Defense 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Fever Pitch (Physical)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.3

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Vanitas, Snow White

 **Vanitas Lv.4**

 _Keychain_ : Void Gear (Strength 2, Magic 1, Medium Reach, Crit-Rate 50%, Damage x1.35)

 _Equipment_ : Power Chain (Strength 1), Wayfinder (Enables D-Link)

 _Command Styles:_ Mad Rush (Physical), Destrudo (Dark)

 _Shotlock:_ Flame Salvo Lv.5

 _D-Links:_ Aqua, Terra, Ventus

 **Unversed Report:**

 **Flood** ( _Defeated_ : 46 Aqua/ 9 Terra/ 29 Ventus/ 286 Vanitas)

 **Scrapper** ( _Defeated_ : 23 Aqua/ 5 Terra/ 13 Ventus/ 64 Vanitas)

 **Archraven** ( _Defeated_ : 9 Aqua/ 3 Terra/ 6 Ventus/ 49 Vanitas)

 **Thornbite** ( _Defeated_ : 15 Aqua/ 8 Terra/ 9 Ventus/ 53 Vanitas)

 **Red Hot Chilis** ( _Defeated_ : 21 Aqua/ 1 Terra/ 4 Ventus/ 29 Vanitas)

 _ **Wandering Load**_ These troublesome two attacked Aqua in the woods outside her home. They may look harmless on first glance, but don't be fooled by their promises of sweet gifts and baked goods: The only thing these enemies are going to share with you if you fall for their act is a world of pain. Thankfully, Aqua managed to defeat these prejudiced tykes in the knick of time before they could burn her at the stake. This is a duo consisting of separate two Unversed. Individually, they are called "Gretel" and "Hänsel". _(Associated Emotion: Helplessness (Gretel), Temptation(Hänsel))_

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _Alternate name for this chapter: "Friggin' Sorceresses."_

 _I was stuck on this chapter for much longer than I should have been because I had trouble with Vanitas' section. It was difficult to have it evenly flow from A to B and I had to change it several times until it worked in a way I was finally happy with. Everything else went rather smoothly though. I actually had huge fun fleshing out Ven's interactions with Snow White and integrating some of my personal frustrations with Terra's mirror boss fight (I suck at playing Terra)._

 _Thank you all so much for all your reviews! They give me strength, especially when I see how excited the story gets you. Being able to share my imagination with others is the best thing, honestly._

 _Now for a first in this fanfic! I'm gonna reply to some reader reviews directly~ !_

 **Riku Kingdom Hearts:** _Asks if hugging the characters is allowed. The answer is, of course, yes! That's what pillows were invented for~! (Also, thanks for all the reviews you left at once! They made me pretty giddy!)_

 **Jdkwinxgrl** : _Regarding your comments on how I write Vanitas and Ventus, who's to say they're *not* actually brothers? Some food for thought. Generally, I base character's motions and thought-processes on things I know well when I write them, so for example, fight-choreography is based on how I know fights are storyboarded for animation (I love animation), and Vanitas' (and, to some extent, Terra's) thought-processes and actions are heavily based on my own experiences with anxiety disorder… Basically, I want everything to feel as alive as it is in my head, rather than just like a collection and description of random tropes! (Tho tropes can be pretty cool.)_

 **meladi1** : _Last chapter I stated that I personally believe that Aqua might have originally come from the same world that Arendelle is in, while I think Terra might have been from the world of "Sword in the Stone". Meladi1 asks why I think that. The answer is simple: Character traits. Aqua's adeptness with elemental magic is unique even among Keyblade Wielders to the point that I think it might be an inborn ability of hers. The world of "Frozen" appears to have more elemental "witches" like Elsa, given what the Trolls say before removing Anna's memory, so I thought Aqua could have been a child like that. With Terra, it's mostly his mindset: He acts like how I'd expect a knave in Sword in the Stone to act when he desperately wants to become a knight. So I imagined probably grew up in an environment where children dream of overly idealistic chivalry like that, hence the connection was made._

 **meladi1** again, + **RandomGuest:** _These two reviews pointed out that Vanitas in this fic seems to have red eyes instead of his usual golden eyes and wondered if I mistyped. I did not! If you check out my art tag on my blog, you'll see that I draw this timeline's Vanitas with red eyes whenever I post anything related to this fic. Actually, I intentionally changed Vanitas' eye color in this fic for a couple of reasons: A) In the novels, red is mentioned as his original eye-color right after he was born; B) The recent trailers establish that Canon!Vanitas is a member of the Seekers of Darkness, which might mean that his golden eye color in canon, too, is actually due to Xehanort's influence and not his real eye color. If so, this timeline's Vanitas has left Xehanort's side too early to ever actually get 'Norted', so that characteristic wouldn't apply to him, hence red eyes would make more sense; C) Finally, I wanted to distinguish this version of Vanitas from his canon self a bit, since, by virtue of different upbringing and different experiences, they end up being rather different characters. Hence, I went back to red eyes, as the novels describe them._

 _And now, while we're at it, some fun facts about the two characters from Ven's and Van's recurring dreams: Sigrun and Gudrun were both built by me in KHUX' character creator for the sake of being as close to canon as possible. They're twins and genetically dark-skinned, but Sigrun is an albino, hence her pale skin and red eyes. Because of the disadvantages that come with albinism, she's less skilled in close combat than Gudrun, but she makes up for it with quick wit and magical mastery. In many ways, she's the brains to Gudrun's brawn. They're named after "Sigurd and Gudrun", two figures from Nordic mythology (a folkhero and his wife), but I mostly picked the names for their meaning: "Sigrun" means "Word of Victory", while "Gudrun" means "Word of Battle". The reason I gave them Nordic names is because my intention is that they hail from the same world as Skuld from KHx. (Skuld is a Nordic name meaning "Future".) If you pay attention to the first dream scene earlier in the fic, you can spot Skuld trying to talk Sigrun and Gudrun out of partaking in the Keyblade War._


End file.
